I know, I know. You're all on pins and needles waiting to hear what the biggest Woody Allen fan in the horror community feels about You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Right? Right?
Before you groan and think that Sieber is going to fawn all over any movie that Woody Allen makes, listen to this. I am aware of the man's shortcomings. Every movie he makes isn't a classic. Far from it. He went through a streak of films that bordered on mediocrity in the early 90's with Small Time Crooks, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and Hollywood Ending. A lot of people loved Bullets Over Broadway, but I thought it was one of his lesser movies. I can barely sit through Alice. Scoop was featherweight fun, but is far from being among his finest features. And as much as I enjoyed his previous production, Whatever Works, it hardly holds up to even Woody's average films.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger was not met with kindness by the critics. At least for the most part. Even the usually-reliable Roger Ebert had faint praise for this one. The thing is, critics come to a Woody Allen movie armed with preconceived notions about the man. Some hold on to poorly informed opinions about his personal life. Others judge the movies against ones he made in the 70's and 80's. Others still just don't get it. I mean, Woody Allen tends to be unrelentingly grim and pessimistic.
I say that the critics missed the boat again with You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Just as they did with the engrossing Cassandra's Dream. They say that the plot meanders. Well, it does. There's not great revelation or sweeping statement at the finale of the movie. The people in it behave, boringly to many, as real people behave.
Woody deals with weighty subjects in his serious films, and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is far from an exception. The main theme in the movie is that people are often happier when they have illusions to believe in. Woody is a notorious atheist, but looking back upon his large body of work, it seems obvious that he very badly wishes he could believe in something. Magic is a running current in his films, and he always seemed torn between having the comfort of belief in a God and cold, hard rationalism.
As always, Woody works with the cream of the acting crop in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Anthony Hopkins plays a wealthy man who wearies of his wife and goes after a younger lifestyle. Josh Brolin is a writer with one successful book to his name, and no further ones in sight. He develops an obsession with a guitar-playing neighbor played by Freida Pinto. Naomi Watts plays his long-suffering wife. Antonio Banderas, in a role that could have easily been played by Vicky Cristina Barcelona's Javier Bardem, plays her art gallery boss. And Gemma Jones plays Hopkins' ex-wife, who learns to find happiness by seeing a phony clairvoyant.
All of these people are unhappy about their lives for various reasons, and their paths entangle in a web of human frailty and greed.
Most people thought it boring. I emphatically disagree. I think You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is one of Woody's best. It's almost a companion piece to Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The narrator is even done by the same guy, Zak Orth. Both films deal with the futility of life and love. Maybe if Woody had featured a kissing scene with Naomi Watts and Freida Pinto, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger would have been more popular.
I also see thematic similarities to Interiors, Match Point, and Husbands and Wives.
Finally, I must point out the strong performance by Lucy Punch. She plays the most despicable character Woody has created since Elaine Stritch played Mia Farrow's monstrous mother in September. Woody generally seems to feel compassion, or at least empathy, with even his most flawed characters. You can generally even feel compassion for his killers. Not so with Punch's character.
Don't let the naysayers sway you away from seeing You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. It may not be your cup of tea, but you should give it a try. The movie is almost all dialogue and some people crave more action in a movie. But the conversations are all so brilliantly written. For my money Woody is the best writer of genuine human dialogue than anyone else out there.
Before you groan and think that Sieber is going to fawn all over any movie that Woody Allen makes, listen to this. I am aware of the man's shortcomings. Every movie he makes isn't a classic. Far from it. He went through a streak of films that bordered on mediocrity in the early 90's with Small Time Crooks, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and Hollywood Ending. A lot of people loved Bullets Over Broadway, but I thought it was one of his lesser movies. I can barely sit through Alice. Scoop was featherweight fun, but is far from being among his finest features. And as much as I enjoyed his previous production, Whatever Works, it hardly holds up to even Woody's average films.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger was not met with kindness by the critics. At least for the most part. Even the usually-reliable Roger Ebert had faint praise for this one. The thing is, critics come to a Woody Allen movie armed with preconceived notions about the man. Some hold on to poorly informed opinions about his personal life. Others judge the movies against ones he made in the 70's and 80's. Others still just don't get it. I mean, Woody Allen tends to be unrelentingly grim and pessimistic.
I say that the critics missed the boat again with You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Just as they did with the engrossing Cassandra's Dream. They say that the plot meanders. Well, it does. There's not great revelation or sweeping statement at the finale of the movie. The people in it behave, boringly to many, as real people behave.
Woody deals with weighty subjects in his serious films, and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is far from an exception. The main theme in the movie is that people are often happier when they have illusions to believe in. Woody is a notorious atheist, but looking back upon his large body of work, it seems obvious that he very badly wishes he could believe in something. Magic is a running current in his films, and he always seemed torn between having the comfort of belief in a God and cold, hard rationalism.
As always, Woody works with the cream of the acting crop in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. Anthony Hopkins plays a wealthy man who wearies of his wife and goes after a younger lifestyle. Josh Brolin is a writer with one successful book to his name, and no further ones in sight. He develops an obsession with a guitar-playing neighbor played by Freida Pinto. Naomi Watts plays his long-suffering wife. Antonio Banderas, in a role that could have easily been played by Vicky Cristina Barcelona's Javier Bardem, plays her art gallery boss. And Gemma Jones plays Hopkins' ex-wife, who learns to find happiness by seeing a phony clairvoyant.
All of these people are unhappy about their lives for various reasons, and their paths entangle in a web of human frailty and greed.
Most people thought it boring. I emphatically disagree. I think You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is one of Woody's best. It's almost a companion piece to Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The narrator is even done by the same guy, Zak Orth. Both films deal with the futility of life and love. Maybe if Woody had featured a kissing scene with Naomi Watts and Freida Pinto, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger would have been more popular.
I also see thematic similarities to Interiors, Match Point, and Husbands and Wives.
Finally, I must point out the strong performance by Lucy Punch. She plays the most despicable character Woody has created since Elaine Stritch played Mia Farrow's monstrous mother in September. Woody generally seems to feel compassion, or at least empathy, with even his most flawed characters. You can generally even feel compassion for his killers. Not so with Punch's character.
Don't let the naysayers sway you away from seeing You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. It may not be your cup of tea, but you should give it a try. The movie is almost all dialogue and some people crave more action in a movie. But the conversations are all so brilliantly written. For my money Woody is the best writer of genuine human dialogue than anyone else out there.
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