Manhattan Murder Mystery
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Movie Reviews of Manhattan Murder Mystery
Movie Review: A PLEASANT DIVERSION
Summary: 4 Stars
Allen's a nebbish old man who wants to mind his (quickly deteriorating love-) life with an unagreeable wife. Sensing this stale mate, the wife played by Diane Keaton, is out for some excitement. Which she gets, in a big way, when a neighbor dies. Just the evening after the two couples had a casual evening coffee.
Suspicions ensue. Old flames pop up. Relationships intertwine and flare. Clues unravel. Marital discord and sensitive chords are struck. All with vintage Allen humor, part neurotic, part drunk on its wit.
The cinematography is handsome, literally here, as candid steady cams are employed, giving the film its constantly roving hand-held look. I personally find this cloying after a while.
The murder itself is mildly suspenseful, but that's barely the point with a W-Allen movie. The twists are intelligent enough and managed to hold my attention for the duration of the movie.
All in all, despite the slightly cop-out denouement, it is generally quite an amusing experience. Recommended rental.
Movie Review: Comfortable Comedy
Summary: 4 Stars
This is Woody Allen doing screwball comedy for the contemporary film viewer. The familiar Allen schtick of neurotic tension, fearfulness, and anxiety, the effective Allen-Keaton chemistry, the lovely New York settings, and a cast of great supporting players make this an easy watch.Sure, the humor veers into slapstick, but the characters are so rich and multi-layered and the script is so dense and fast moving that one forgives some of the broadness. The references to film noir and classic detective yarns embellish the pleasing story. The interplay between Allen and Keaton allows the history of their fictional marriage to be evident, with all its warmth, frustrations, doubts, and reliability. The distractions that Huston's and Alda's characters provide to each heightens the fun. The comic apsects of the movie don't stop it from having some genuine surprises. Although not the finest film in the world or even Allen's best, I have watched this many, many times and plan to enjoy it for a long while more.
Movie Review: Great throwback to the days of whine and neurosis
Summary: 4 Stars
I absolutely loved this film. I laughed. I jumped. I laughed some more.This script had been laying around for quite some time, and when Allen decided to resurrect it, I'm SO glad he got Diane Keaton to join him for the filming. Their chemistry is still there, and so is Allen's wonderful neurotic schtick. The elevator scene is priceless. I also greatly enjoyed the tape-player skit with Allen's inimitable bumbling.
I think the film hiccups a bit when it abruptly switches to a film-noir ending. Mind you, I enjoyed the ending, especially the Welles homage, but I think this decidedly dark ending causes the whole vehicle to lose momentum.
All in all this great fun with plenty of zany suspense and the fabulous interplay of Allen and Keaton.
Movie Review: Woody meets Hitch
Summary: 4 Stars
If Woody Allen had made "Rear Window", this would have been the result. The formula and structure is strikingly similar: Allen and Keaton star as a couple who have come to something of a stalemate in their marriage. She is adventurous; he, a neurotic (unsurprisingly), is patently not. When she becomes convinced that a neighbour is responsible for the death of his wife ("Who?" asks Woody, "You mean our next-door widower?"), she sets off on a daring Hitchcockian quest to uncover the truth, ending in the solution of a puzzling mystery that brings the two opposites back together.For wit and brilliance, Woody Allen is on top form. This is laugh-a-minute stuff. Along with Deconstructing Harry, this may well be one of Allen's best films of the '90s.
Movie Review: Woody meets Hitch
Summary: 4 Stars
If Woody Allen had made "Rear Window", this would have been the result. The formula and structure is strikingly similar: Allen and Keaton star as a couple who have come to something of a stalemate in their marriage. She is adventurous; he, a neurotic (unsurprisingly), is patently not. When she becomes convinced that a neighbour is responsible for the death of his wife ("Who?" asks Woody, "You mean our next-door widower?"), she sets off on a daring Hitchcockian quest to uncover the truth, ending in the solution of a puzzling mystery that brings the two opposites back together.For wit and brilliance, Woody Allen is on top form. This is laugh-a-minute stuff. Along with Deconstructing Harry, this may well be one of Allen's best films of the '90s.