Review of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) by Jamie D — 23 Mar 2011

Certainly a film worth seeing, as it shows Woody exploring his recurring theme of the tragedy of life in a brilliant way. It is a true ensemble cast and everyone acts greatly. Anthony Hopkins acts spectacularly and his character's plotline is probably the most interesting of them all. Naomi Watts is very, VERY good and a delight to watch. Josh Brolin is excellent as a failed writer, suffering from writer's block. Gemma Jones is fantastic as Helena, playing a seriously nervous character very well. It is worth seeing for these performances and Allen's dialogue sprouting from them (particularly in Hopkins' case). Antonio Banderas is only in it for a short time, but is as good as always. 'Do you see how beautiful and ironic life is?'.

The narration is also a good inclusion of the film, accompanying the stories by relating the occurances back to the message and theme of the film. It could only be improved if Woody Allen himself was the narrator (that would've been fantastic!) The storytelling is at times something to admire, such as the character Brolin plays being inspired by the 'creature in red across the way'. Some scenes that stand out are when we first meet Hopkins' very much younger girlfriend, Charmaine, played by Lucy Punch. It was a very funny scene and started on the interesting plotline about to unfold. Another scene between Brolin, Watts and Jones was also great, very dramatic, in which they all confront eachother with their problems. At the end, nothing is really explained (which is the case with Allen's films, which usually is a great effect, and is the case with life itself). Hopkins' character is left on a tragic and quite upsetting end, as we know what is going to happen to him. Brolin's character is also left with tragedy, but is at the same time hilarious.

Allen's message here is presented slightly differently than before, with a Shakespeare quote. 'Life is full of sound and fury, and in the end signifies nothing.' A great quote, brought up at the beginning and at the very end, reminding us that that is the tale's point. At the end, the narrator also says that 'Illusion is better than medicine.' This is probably the saying from the film that made me think about the characters a while afterwards. Each character is obsessed with their own little illusions. Hopkins is taken with the illusion of becoming youthful again and changing his lifestyle completely by leaving his wife of 40 years. Brolin is obsessed with creating the perfect book and making a work of genius for people to adore so he can be celebrated. Every character has their illusion, yet the one who succeeds and finds happiness in the end, is the one who has not harmed anyone in the process of following the illusion. I thought this was a clever and poignant aspect of the film.

Not quite vintage Allen, but worth a watch for any fan, and I'm sure it will probably get better and possibly funnier on more watches. :).