Review of Manhattan (1979) by Pasha A — 10 Mar 2012

Probably Woody Allen's most visually stunning film - not just those opening shots of "his town"; the deadpan surrealism of the planetarium is pretty breathtaking too. And despite being one of the quintessential New York stories, there's something very European, very French even, about how grown up and sophisticated it all is, albeit with a certain amount of wish fulfillment in the relationship with Mariel Hemingway's high school student.

(Indeed it's a credit to the charm of her performance that the film isn't derailed by the wrongness that surrounds those scenes). Elsewhere, there is a brilliantly icy supporting performance by Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton's brittle female lead is funny, sad and painfully believable, and all in all the film is not only a high-point in Allen's career, but in 1970s filmmaking in general.