Review of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) by Ryan H — 16 Oct 2010

I have made it a personal habit to watch a Woody Allen comedy whenever my own romantic situation has gotten me down. Finding out an ex is engaged is definitely the kind of situation that would lead me to staring out a window for an hour instead of doing something productive, because I'm a melodramatic tool. Ever since last year's 4th of July, which I spent with a six pack and Take The Money And Run, I have used Woody Allen's films as a kind of therapy for myself. And so far, it has never failed. So, due to the aforementioned situation, I was in desperate need of cheering up, and finding out a theater in town was showing Allen's newest had me absolutely delighted.

My expectations coming into the theater were not high. While I had enjoyed Whatever Works, I will never actually think of it as a very good movie. The acting is awkward, the material recycled, the accents atrocious. But it made me laugh (also watched while getting over an ex). I was anticipating similar fare with Dark Stranger, but wasn't going to be surprised if I left the theater indifferent.

Luckily this was not the case. Allen's new film is surprisingly delightful. The movie revolves around a large cast of characters, played exquisitely by one of Allen's best casts to date, featuring Naomi Watts, Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins among others. The film starts out with a woman going to a medium to have her fortune read. We are then introduced to people in the woman's life, and the various romantic problems they are having. Partners get switched, divorces happen, as do marriages, and we are left with many typical Woody Allen questions.

The classic themes of his films are all here. Infidelity drives most of the story, for example. No character ends the film with the person they began with. Allen's inclusion of the medium matches his spiritual quota for the film. As usual, Allen as the director takes on the role of The Seventh Seal's Antonius Block, a character striving to understand the divinity of god, hoping against hope that the supernatural exists.

Unusual for his films however is the sense of justice being paid by the end. While we are left with a few loose ends, Allen has made the unusual (for him at least) choice to punish the wicked and bring happiness to the good. As a result, this might ultimately be the most optimistic film he's made in his career. While I wouldn't rank it among his best, it's definitely one of the better films he's made this century. And with that, I look forward to the next installment in Woody Allen's career, undoubtedly due out in exactly one year.