Review of Manhattan (1979) by Ryan M — 18 Feb 2010

Between the mid 70's and late 80's, not many directors could match Woody Allen's output of films in quality + quantity. He's received nowhere near the same amount of acclaim in the 90's or 00's, but he's still bagged himself 21 Oscar nominations and 3 wins, paid respects to all of the cinematic, literary and musical greats within his movies and he's always put his own personal touch on them to make sure you realise this is a Woody Allen film. He's also had an influence on the next generation of filmmakers who have all tried to beat "Annie Hall" in the rom-com genre, so it's a little disappointing to see how everyone only ever speaks of his private life and fails to focus on what a great writer, director and actor he is. "Manhattan" is not Woody's personal favourite of his own work, but it is my new favourite of his.

40-something Isaac (Woody Allen) is dating 17 year old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). After dining with his married friends Yale (Michael Murphy) and Emily (Anne Hoffman), Yale confides in Isaac that he's been seeing someone on the side: The "too-cerebral" Mary (Woody's muse Diane Keaton), which is hard for Isaac to take in due to his belief that Yale & Emily seemed happily married and there's no reason for him to see Mary. Meanwhile, Isaac seems to try his hardest to dump Tracy because of their age difference, and also because Yale gives him the go-ahead to start seeing Mary once he ends their affair. He also has to deal with his ex-wife (Meryl Streep) who has decided to get her book about their marriage published, which Isaac isn't too happy about.

Stepping away from the outright comedy of "Annie Hall" and into the elegiac tone of "Manhattan" is helped immensely by George Gershwin's sumptuous soundtrack and Gordon Willis' magnificent black & white photography, who are a perfect couple compared to the upper-class characters of the story. Woody's films are often set in New York and this film is his loveletter to it: the legendary shot of the Queensborough bridge in the early morning light with Allen and Keaton sitting on a bench will take your breath away. Like "La Dolce Vita" it casts a critical eye over the decadence of modern day society; The downsizing of TV comedy to the masses; the rise in number of divorces; the tearing down of the older buildings in NYC; the cerebral upper class men who think too much to truly love anyone; the thought of losing connection with the past greats of history and never reclaiming them and the pointless materialism which runs rampant throughout.

Like every Allen film, the acting is pretty good from everyone, but Mariel Hemingway as the squeaky voiced Tracy seems the most natural performance which is rather apt because she's the only major character who truly loves someone without psychoanalysing the situation. Don't call it a love story, it's more a story of loss and the worry of losing what's really important by overthinking every possibility. After all, the heart wants what the heart wants and the brain can't answer every question. But in this case, I can honestly say that I love "Manhattan" and I know exactly why: It's beautiful, funny at times, poignant, thought-provoking and repays plenty of future rewatches, a Woody Allen classic.