Review of Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) by Donovan D — 04 Apr 2008

Uneven and middleweight Woody Allen, made in the wake of his controversial and very public breakup with Mia Farrow. While longtime fans will certainly delight in the return of Diane Keaton to the Allen fold, the magic the pairing brought to such classics as Annie Hall and Manhattan had dissipated somewhat by this time.

Keaton is great and as charismatic as she had been in Annie Hall as Allen's wife, and Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston seem to relish the chance for Allen's meaty dialogue. The problem with the film however is Allen himself.

While the neurotic 'Allen character' appears in pretty much all his work, in films like Annie Hall and Husbands and Wives he's a largely likeable clown. For the first half of the film Allen's neuroses are presented at his most annoying and overbearing, greatly reducing what could have been a very excellent film.

Things pick up in the later half of the film, with such classic lines as "Claustrophobia and a dead body... this is a neurotic's jackpot!" but in the end Allen's character was merely redeemed rather than liked.

Which is a shame since Allen's writing in all other respects is top notch - and the final shoot out and homage to Orson Welles is clever and first rate Allen- but Manhattan Murder Mystery ends up being far too uneven to be up there with his best work, even if it remains a funny and at least worthwhile entry in his oeuvre.