Review of Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011) by Art S — 06 Dec 2013

I hadn't expected Woody Allen's full participation in this documentary (or any documentary), given his often-discussed need for privacy (and the inevitable discussion of his private life). However, that's probably why this is a bit of a puff piece.

There is a more-or-less detailed discussion of his early career and gag-focused films and then his shift into "mature" material with Annie Hall. Then, onward into the mixed bag of films that appeared in the 80s and 90s, but with little extended treatment of each one.

After that, the documentary starts to jump around and at least one talking head mentions decline or drift (after Deconstructing Harry, which gets no discussion at all) - up until Match Point and his renewal.

A coda talks about the success of Midnight in Paris. Throughout it all, Allen professes that he doesn't think any of his films are good and that he'll never have a masterpiece. An interview in the disc's extras suggests that he doesn't care.

It seems pretty apparent that he's worked out his themes in the past (as there is pretty much no discussion of themes or content after Crimes and Misdemeanors) and now he's just a craftsman (or an actor's director).

Probably that's true, but it's hard to know whether you are going to get a dud or something richer (from anywhere in his oeuvre). Way back when, I would have expected better.