Review of Sweet and Lowdown (1999) by Harry W — 26 Dec 2013

Sweet and Lowdown covers the life of a type of musical figure I am unfamiliar with, as he has a journey through life which covers a very complicated story.

The story in Sweet and Lowdown is decent because it touches on elements that musicians don't normally touch on, but also does explore a lot of basic territory which fails to contrast it from so many other musician drama films, except that this one is presented in a realistic manner like Warren Beatty's biographical epic Reds. The story just really doesn't carry the interesting heft of many films like it, and people not accustomed to director Woody Allen's brand of humour will find it strange and somewhat awkward. I'm still adjusting to it, and I didn't find it funny or all that charming either. His directorial work was good, but his script wasn't as clever or funny as many of his other ones, and the story isn't hat original.

The visual style of Sweet and Lowdown was good, because the footage maintains a strong visual experience with beautiful footage of old cars, trains and the waterfront of a pier all shot with fine cinematography, but that makes Sweet and Lowdown more memorable for its style than for its substance. I honestly found it to be largely repetitive with protagonist Emmet Ray just going through the same troubles again and again until he finally broke in the final scene. The final scene in the film is great, but there isn't really substantial interest building up to it so it's more effective than what comes before it. It's an odd experience, because it's a powerful climax matching insufficient buildup, and usually it's the other way around.

I don't know if Sweet and Lowdown is meant to be a satirical pseudo-biopic like This is Spinal Tap, but I failed to pick up on that and honestly just didn't feel entertained. I didn't feel the Woody Allen charm, and it just didn't get me or enthral me.

But I will say that Sweet and Lowdown gained the benefit of Sean Penn's fine lead performance. Maintaining a constant sense of visual sophistication and charm yet countering it with a sense of inner torment, Sean Penn finds the perfect balance to ensure that he portrays musician Emmet Ray with all the ideal spirit and charismatic energy, as well as the actual skill for playing guitar very finely. Sean Penn really has the soul of a musician in Sweet and Lowdown, and he does shine.

Samantha Morton also manages to supply a fine supporting performance as the mute Hattie by really convincing us that she is unable to speak and having a strong language in her physicality to back it up.

Uma Thurman and John Waters also manage to give fine performances.

So Sweet and Lowdown looks good and is well acted, but it's story is full and it's sense of humour is too odd.