Review of Manhattan (1979) by Ryan H — 16 May 2010

There are few who can write dialogue as well as Woody Allen. He has so many witty and quick moments in this film that I was almost always caught off guard by his comments. The story of Manhattan is quite genius. A man who loves Manhattan, but hates what it's turning in to, but loves a girl of the generation that is changing it, and is constantly getting screwed by his own generation, is caught in the middle of everything. He meets a woman who he automatically labels as a crazy person (she rags on Ingmar Bergman for crying out loud!), but when know right away he's going to be drawn to her. Is Isaac as masochist, or an optimist, or perhaps he's just lost? That's what I love about Woody Allen's movies, we know the character very well, but he is so real that it's hard to pin down everything about him. In real life we don't know our own motivations all the time, and in film it feels sloppy, but when Allen does it the film is pure genius. The movie is in black and white to capture this feeling of a classic Manhattan that Allen loves, but the cinematography doesn't feel restrained to having a classic style or to stick with the new style. It really felt like a movie of its own. My favorite shots were in the museum with the silhouettes of Allen and Keaton. The acting is brilliant. Although this is Woody Allen and Diane Keaton acting together again, it feels nothing like Annie Hall. She is a completely different person and they are in a different situation. Of course Allen's character feels similar, but he typically keeps the main character personal to himself.

**Spoilers**.

The last line of the movie is perfect. After all of this misfortune Tracy tells Isaac that he has to have faith in people. His wife leaves him for another woman, he quits his job because he can't write for a show that doesn't have the comedy he believes in, his best friend is having an affair on his wife after being married for 12 years, he sees a woman who leaves him for a married man, and not even he can make the right decision with love. But he still sits on a couch and gets an idea for a short story and he can still list reasons why to live. Manhattan is a very real, but at the same time optimistic portrait of the way people are changing and living today. Even though this was made in 1979 it still holds true today.