On Fridays some Jews light candles, some go to temple, and some go to the new Woody Allen movie. Jack isn't Jewish, and I'm the secular sort, but we had plenty of belly laughs in Allen's London-set tale of two (gentile) unhappy couples and the awkward situations into which they put themselves. The couples are Helena and Alfie, played by Gemma Jones (mum of characters Bridget Jones (2001 and 04) and the Dashwood girls in Sense and Sensibility (1995), and Madam Pomfrey in a couple of Harry Potters (2002 and 09), among many credits) and Anthony Hopkins (my favorites are The Silence of the Lambs (1991), which won him his Oscar, The Remains of the Day (1993), which earned one of his three nominations, 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), and The World's Fastest Indian (2005)) and their daughter and son-in-law Sally and Roy, played by Naomi Watts (I wrote about her in Mother and Child) and Josh Brolin (was in Allen's Melinda and Melinda (2004) and great in the hilarious Flirting with Disaster (1996), the grim No Country for Old Men (2007), the wonderful Milk, and W.). There's usually a nervous Woody-type character in each of his movies, and some would say (Allen himself hinted this in a spoiler-filled interview that you should read after you've seen the movie) it is Alfie, who is close to Allen's age and wants to date younger women. But my take is that it's Roy: antsy, out of place (he's an American amongst all the Brits), out of shape, and frustrated. And, as his wife Sally, Watts has the Mia Farrow thing going: pretty and pissed off. And they both stammer a bit in the beginning: a hallmark of most of Allen's leads. Jones' Helena is sweet and naive and Pauline Collins (Oscar-nominated for playing Shirley Valentine (1989)) as Cristal the fortune teller is pretty funny. Lucy Punch's hysterical Charmaine reminds me of something I heard Roger Ebert say on TV about Cameron Diaz in her first movie, The Mask (1994). I couldn't find an exact quote so you'll have to trust me on this one. Ebert said that he wasn't sure if it was Diaz' comic timing or her Wonderbra that was great, but he tended to believe it was the former. Punch, who was priceless in Dinner for Schmucks, hits the bulls eye again here. Freida Pinto (this is her second movie after playing the babe in Slumdog Millionaire; before that she was a model) is gorgeous and thoughtful as the lady in red.
Speaking of which, each character's wardrobe has a specific palette which you will enjoy (wardrobe by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor (this is her first time with Allen; she styled, among others, The Fisher King (1991), To Die For (1995), Wonder Boys (2000), and The Brothers Bloom, which wardrobe impressed me so much I mentioned it in the post), and, as usual for Allen, the sets and locations are spectacular, as well as the cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond (Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), nominated for The Deer Hunter (1987), The River (1984), and The Black Dahlia (2006), and he worked with Allen on Melinda and Melinda and Cassandra's Dream (2007)) and soundtrack of Dixieland, straight-ahead jazz, and classical music. A bit of casting trivia: Nicole Kidman was to have had Punch's part but dropped out for a scheduling conflict, and Ewen Bremner, who plays the writer Henry Strangler, was in Trainspotting (1996), directed by Danny Boyle 12 years before Slumdog, among other credits. You may see Antonio Banderas listed as the star of this movie. He isn't. His name just comes first when the major players are alphabetized. The lovely Anna Friel appears in a small part with a confusing accent (one minute English, then American, then Scottish), especially odd since her character Iris is supposed to be an old schoolmate of Sally's. Friel, originally from Manchester in northern England, can do a perfect American accent, as she did on TV's Pushing Daisies, so one would think she could match that of Watts (who was born in England, raised in Australia, and has played English-speaking parts from both of those places as well as here). Perhaps I'm nitpicking, but it was a wee bit jarring.
For some premiere photos and more thoughts from the director, see this link. Since I began the blog just over two years ago I've written about two Allen movies: Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Whatever Works. Let me say that, though I do not approve of his incestuous choice of mate, I'm still a huge fan of his work, and not just "the earlier, funnier ones."
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