What you're looking at below is a screenshot from the new Film Experience site (opening in a couple of weeks) in the "top tens" section... which is more like a "top 1" for each year from 1920-1979 (until I see or revisit more films from those years).
Woody Allen made my favorite films of 1977 (Annie Hall), 1979 (Manhattan) and 1985 (The Purple Rose of Cairo) and came very close to doing so in 1986 (Hannah and Her Sisters) and 1992 (Husbands and Wives). I haven't done the math but he's way up their under "most represented filmmaker" in my personal bliss lists. Other repeat #1 champs are Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks and William Wyler. But you'll see those lists soon enough.
Though I've expressed concern about Woody Allen's qualitative if not quantitative decline in various posts (I've nearly hated the last two films, Whatever Works and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), he has given us so much great cinema over the past four decades that today on his 75th birthday I only want to sing him "Happy Birthday". Or maybe play it for him on the clarinet. If only I could play.
10 Favorite Woody Flicks
Manhattan (1979)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Annie Hall (1977)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Interiors (1978)
Match Point (2005)
Stardust Memories (1980)
Sleeper (1973)
Disclaimer: This list is constantly in flux after the top 5 which are inarguably my favorites. I should probably rewatch some of the older ones. I've been meaning to take a good long look at Crimes and Misdemeanors and Another Woman again especially. The only ones I haven't seen: Bananas (1971), Love and Death (1975), Zelig (1983... I've been meaning to watch this one forever. It's like a strange mental block for me), and Cassandra's Dream (2007)
Weird Oscar Trivia: This is little commented on but I think it's worth noting. Though it's well known that Woody Allen is Oscar's #1 screenwriter (14 nominations, 2 wins) and among their 10 favorite directors of all time (6 nominations, 1 win) isn't it bizarre that, given the intensity of that AMPAS love, he's only ever had 2 Best Picture nominees (Annie Hall & Hannah and Her Sisters)? Strange.
Next? Woody's 42nd feature film Midnight in Paris which is about an engaged couple travelling to Paris on business and cheating on each other. I'm guessing on that last part of that sentence but it doesn't take a psychic. Will the film be another goodie like Vicky Cristina Barcelona or a mess like Whatever Works? The new film stars Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen (now a real life couple). Marion Cotillard plays a character referred to as the 'Muse' -- an Allen staple. When it comes to the new cast, we're most excited to see Mimi Kennedy join the Woodyverse. She seems ideally suited for it, yes? She was so gutbustingly funny in In the Loop (2009).
Woody directing Kennedy and McAdams in Midnight in Paris (2011)
All of them are newbies to the Woodyverse but he doesn't repeat his cast members that much anymore (sigh). Still no Dianne Wiest in sight. Since Paris is done filming he's undoubtedly writing Untitled Woody Allen Project i.e. the 43rd due in 2012. That how he do.
Wish Mr. Allen a happy 75th in the comments, and tell us your favorite of his films! *
Until I find more time... 7 words must suffice. Tangled Disney's animated Rapunzel musical (Skip the 3D, save money.) 7WR: Gorgeously rendered central image / conflict. Tonal slips. B+ [More to come on this one soon. Sorry for wait.] You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Woody Allen's annual comedy. This one focuses on a failed writer (Josh Brolin) whose new work just doesn't measure up to the old (hmmmm) and the women in his life. 7WR: Woody, lazily confessing, quotes Shakespeare "...signifying nothing." D*
In her music video "Uh Huh" Juliette Lewis sashays around with a bouquet of colorful balloons, smiling radiantly. Her mood seems lighter than air. It's an incongruous musical moment in her rock grrrl career -- in the newest video "Terra Incognito" she's back to her old in-your-face provocations -- but the softer side was lovely to see.
And why shouldn't Juliette's mood be lighter these days? After years of touring to build a music career while doing thankless cameos in mainstream comedies, could it be that filmmakers are finally on the verge of rediscovering her unique gift?
Juliette Lewis has taken up more than her share of my actressy headspace ever since I first heard her inimitable voice in the opening frames of Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991). I don't even like narration -- in anything -- and I was instantly enamored.
I met with Juliette Lewis in October at the stylish Crosby Street Hotel in Soho, where she was holding court promoting the Oscar hopefulConviction. The film is still playing around the country (check the listing for yours) and speaking of holding court, Juliette's role is minor but attention grabbing.
Juliette Takes the Stand.
You meet her character Roseanna Perry first as she takes the witness stand. Roseanna's testimony will make things hopeless for soon to be life-sentenced Terry (Sam Rockwell). Later his sister Betty Anne (Hilary Swank) will come calling hoping that she'll recant that damning testimony.
When you only have two scenes, you have to make them count. I wondered if she prepared any differently knowing it was such a minor role. "NO." Juliette replied emphatically, explaining that the smaller the role, the bigger the acting challenge in a way.
Juliette the day we met.
Juliette: How do I tell what's been going on with this character in two scenes? I think with all my roles, I want them to be visceral sort of a live experience. I've been doing live shows for the last five years so I carry that with me but I always want you to get a sense of this personality. It's not necessarily in the words. When she's on the witness stand you see that she's troubled, she's damaged, she's not a very joyful creature. And then the exciting thing is to meet her 18 years later and telling a story of what she's been doing. I hope that you get the sense that she never leaves her trailer, she's been drinking for 18 years and doing drugs --we don't know what kind. If you just took those two elements and had a conversation with that person that would be incredibly complicated and interesting. But then you pile on that she's created a world of her own fiction through guilt and lying and then she's being confronted by the person she's wronged. It's intense and amazing and that's why she bounces off the walls emotionally.
Short answer: I had all these details and all these ingredients that I had to then put together and make an organic person. To me, I was like 'Oh, I get to play one of these characters,' a person that you walk the other direction when you see them on the street. These people who have a very upsetting unsettling energy. I wanted people to feel uncomfortable because she's uncomfortable.
We continued talking about her research. Despite what some would deem a loud performance, Roseanna Perry offscreen sounds like an even bigger nightmare than the one Juliette dreamt up for us. I told Juliette that as a fan I'm always hoping she'll get bigger parts. "Someday," she replied with mock dreaminess. "We'll build it together!"
Nathaniel: One of the reasons I love your second scene is that you are suddenly the star of the movie. If you think about it all the characters are surrounding you and they're living or dying based on what you're about to do. Plus, the punchline is so great. It's like your holding court in the scene.
Juliette: That's amazing. That makes total sense, I love that; it's her show. At the same time there's this oddity that she's receiving guests. 'Oh, guests are at my place. Would you like some wine?'
Nathaniel: She probably doesn't get guests that often.
Juliette: That's what I'm thinking. I'm thinking she talks to her TV.
Juliette went on to describe Roseanna's psyche, sounding almost sad in the process, indicating that as an actress she'd really dug down into the contradictions of someone who is self-serving, who feels a lot of guilt yet won't make amends.
Nathaniel: I imagine as an actor you have to always believe in the truth of your character, even if they're a born liar?
Juliette: ABSOLUTELY. Human beings are so contradictory and colorful and a blend of so many things. She [Roseanna] turns up her own emotions to get affect but she also feels what she feels.
Juliette Lewis as Roseanna Perry
As the conversation shifted away from Conviction, Juliette talked about her year's away from the movies touring to building her music career but despite the devotion to her music career she seemed genuinely happy to be back in the mix of the movies. "I don't know if I've changed or the movies have changed," she explained "but everything has been this sort of delicious experience." Yes, even small roles in Jennifer Aniston movies are deemed delicious so you know Juliette Lewis means it when she says she's glad to be acting again.
When I asked if we could discuss the 90s, Juliette didn't hesitate though she did get a little contemplative about a retrospective "It's so funny when you don't have perspective at the time. You don't know what you're necessarily doing that's relevant or whatever. You sort of learn in hindsight." Nearly twenty years have passed since she first made a big mark on the screen, but her memory of the films seemed razor sharp.
We didn't peruse the films chronologically but jumped around in conversation beginning with Natural Born Killers (1994). It was the first time I'd heard her sing as she paced her prison cell singing "Naturally Born Bad." I theorized on what made that particular performance so special.
Nathaniel: Watching Mallory --- it's like she's hearing music in her head that you can't hear. A radio station that's JUST her frequency. So then when you start singing in that scene it's a natural fit, like the part is coalescing.
Juliette: I love that. That makes sense. That's funny -- for different parts I use music for brainwashing if that's what you want to call it. I was listening to Jimmy Hendrix. It's not so much his voice but the guitar playing. It had so much danger despair torment chaos if you listen to "Voodoo Child" it's everything of that journey, that character. I would listen to that over and over before filming so that was living inside.
We moved from talking about Oliver Stone who she called "brilliant" to Husbands and Wives (1992). One of my personal favorite scenes in Woody's filmography is her scene in the taxicab when her character Rain admits that she's lost Woody's book --- "his manuscript," Juliette corrected me, recalling the scene just as I'd begun to describe it. She had loved working with Woody Allen because he encouraged improvisation. I asked her if she was aware that he was going to leave the camera on her for practically the whole scene. He has most of the dialogue and yet we're watching her.
Juliette: That's crazy that he did that. What a nice director.
Nathaniel: Rain seems so amused by how much she's upset him.
Juliette as the precocious Rain in Husbands and Wives (1992)
Juliette: She is! Young girls... they just drive you nuts, that youthful arrogance, that superiority. I've had a 22 year old call me "honey" and I was just like 'WHAT? I don't think so!' Honestly she likes the attention of her mistake and she likes seeing him get all riled up. It's very flattering for her that he's asking her opinion. The more insecure he gets the more superior she feels -- classic younger girl and older guy. All those things I discover when playing it.
Nathaniel: But did you know it was your scene, that you would hold the camera?
Juliette: I had no idea, no. I thought we were shooting my take and than we shoot his take. I never even thought about that. I didn't really think of it in a heady way. I don't contrive these things so much before hand. I just sort of understand the scene and the character. My goal always is to surrender and be in the moment -- ultimately you're just surrendering and seeing what happens.
One of Juliette's favorite directors is of course her own brother Lightfield Lewis who she has worked with numerous times. Juliette raved about their new collaboration (the video is below, it had just come out a couple of days before the interview) for "Terra Incognito". "It's really visual and has a lot of fighting in it -- for taking your licks and getting back up."
Terra Incognito
"Terra Incognito" is the most recent single from her latest record but I had to tell her how amused I was to see a subliminal insert of the famous thumbsucking scene from Cape Fear in the previous video to "Uh Huh." Did she know that was going to be there?
Juliette: No, I didn't know it. That's my brother. He loves all things pop culture. He's very cinematic. My brother is the movie buff, the filmmaker. All the things that influenced me were all musicals: All That Jazz, Hair, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Grease. No, I didn't know he was going to do that.
She had actually asked him to remove it, fearing that the music fans would be confused. Not all of them knew she was an actress. The conversation about these movie referencing videos sent her into thinking about her different worlds and where they did and did not merge comfortably "It's funny that i'm used to being this underdog in different dimensions." But she believed she was finally finding the balance and merging the two. Does this mean she'd be willing to make a musical?
Juliette: I'd love it. I want it to be super strange though like Terry Gilliam style or Bob Fosse.
Nathaniel: John Cameron Mitchell, maybe. Like a Hedwig sort of energy?
Juliette: YES. I actually met with him. He wanted me to play Hedwig somewhere. Wouldn't that be neat? In the play. Wouldn't that be interesting?
When my time was up -- promotional rounds have tight time frames -- Juliette offered to keep chatting, holding the clockwatcher (i.e. publicist) at bay. "He has a million great questions!" We ended by chatting for a few minutes about Kathyrn Bigelow's Strange Days, her recent Oscar win (Juliette was "over the moon" about it) and the birth of Juliette's own music career by way of P.J. Harvey's songs.
I told her about the first time I saw Strange Days and being as thunderstruck watching her as Ralph Fiennes was from his crosswalk overlook. It was hard not to think of her as a fully formed rock star. This wasn't pretend. At first Juliette rejected the Faith/Juliette comparison and amusingly described her vision of her self with sing-song wit.
Juliette: It was very much Kathyrn's vision of what she was so it wasn't me per se. Faith is really damaged. I'm a much different creature on stage -- I like to think a superhero or a magical pixie -- but, yes, that was amazing. That's when P.J. Harvey entered my life as a musician. I just drank her up. There's nothing like her.
Nathaniel: Well, tome Strange Days was your debut as a rock star; it was the start of the music career before the music career actually started.
Juliette: [Suddenly excited] What I'm not telling you is that it did! I was a closeted songwriters/singer. I was keeping it in because it was the most personal -- too vulnerable. Having to sing for a role made me step out and go 'remember this? You're a singer.' But I still wasn't ready because I was so self critical. I had to go through some changes in my life. I finally did it when I was approaching age 30. A little bit late but i'm making up for lost time.
Nathaniel: Hey, late bloomers... that's fine. I started writing when I was approaching 30 and now I don't love anything else more.
Juliette: Isn't that amazing? It's like 'This is who I was all along and now I finally let it out.'
Uh Huh
Let it out, Juliette. Keep letting that magic out. *
Scott Feinberg points out that Sony Pictures Classics is the first studio out of the gate with Academy screeners. This is a good strategy as I've noted previously. I am anxious to watch Please Give again (very funny movie with delightful actressing throughout... in other words: my kind of movie). I haven't yet screened You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger but shall very soon now that it's here. I am feeling the fan guilt as it's one of only two Woody Allen movies I missed in theaters since I saw my very first one back in *gulp* 1984. No, Woody has not always deserved my slavish devotion... but he came very very close twice in the last decade to giving me what I needed from him (Match Point & Vicky Cristina Barcelona, duh!) so there's still a sliver of hope each year.
In related news: Animal Kingdom! I know I've been mentioning that one a lot but I keep hearing from disgruntled moviegoers who missed in when it hit their town. Don't let this happen to you.
LinksPopWrap Julianne Moore "the hundred year old model" Film Biz Asia It's hard to keep track of all the Asian film awards but the APSA nominations are out. Three Oscar submissions were nominated for their Best Picture prize: Aftershock (China), Monga (Taiwan) and Bal / Honey (Turkey). Poetry, which should-have-been Korea's Oscar submission (it's so good), was also nominated. Awards Daily State of the Race and the Winter's Bone boost. People were bitching at me for believing in this movie as a Best Picture contender and the Gotham Awards have gone and illuminated my foresight. That loud smacking you hear is me kissing my own ass. Someone's got to do it! Journalistic Skepticism compares 70s stars to arguable modern counterparts. Interesting comparison though I had to take issue with the idea that DiCaprio needed Scorsese... DiCaprio was a big deal long before Scorsese adopted him. I've never seen the media fawn over a teenage (male) actor the way they fawned over him in the early to mid 90s. It was like he was the media's only begotten son, they had already set up a trust fund and they had big dreams for him. He could be a doctor, an astronaut or the President!
Leonardo & Hilary in the 1990s.
Antagony & Ecstasy I know I link to this blog a lot but it's because Timothy Brayton is such a damn fine critic. Here in the Conviction review, he provides the most plausible theory yet as to who is responsible for Hilary Swank. OMG Blog Admit it. You've always wanted to photoshop James Franco to look more like a drag queen. Empire John C Reilly has replaced Matt Dillon in Roman Polanski's God of Carnage. That's too bad. I thought that was a good get for Dillon. Isn't it weird that he never got that career uptick that usually follows a first Oscar nomination (Crash). Wonder why that was?
Off Topic Here are a bunch of young'ish Broadway actors, banded together for a benefit song to help the very worthwhile Trevor Project that fight for LGBT youth.
All the suicides and bullying stories on the news lately are so sad. There has definitely been a resurgence in racism and homophobia and all the other uncomfortable isms and phobias and realities of life in the past couple of years -- and depressingly egged on by people in positions of power, too (shame on them) -- but the way I like to look at it is that it's the death rattle of very backwards ways of thinking. When people see their way of life dwindling -- even if its a hateful way of life/thinking that everyone (including themselves) would be happier if they let go of -- they get very scared and get loud. Change is difficult for people as is progress. But I'm drifting off of the off topic (!) The point is: I can take one moment in this post in case anyone reading is having it rough and say this: Hang on. Life has peaks and valleys but you do not wanna miss the peaks. God the peaks are good.
It's like when you see a terrible movie and you think "god, movies have gotten so bad!" and you think you're done with them and them, ta-da, some actress starts shimmering onscreen, some setpiece makes you wanna devour your entire popcorn bucket while cheering, or some director sums up his whole theme with one perfect shot, or you see a masterpiece and it's all magical again. You don't wanna miss the masterpiece movie on account of the crappy soulless ones. See, now we're...
...Back on Topic! Here's the new trailer for The Fighter which suddenly renewed everyone's Oscar faith in the movie on Sunday night when it aired during Mad Men. I like the trailer and it does look like Melissa Leo & Amy Adams may hog 40% of the supporting actress category together... but what is with the total D-R-A-M-A of that painfully elongated ridiculously familiar phrase "Based on a True Story"? I can't recall ever seeing a trailer trying to make that as gargantuan a SELLING POINT as this one does.
I mean is there anyone out there who is watching going "yeah, yeah, I like Amy Adams and Mark Wahlberg and boxing movies well enough. but OMG. it's based on a true story?!? Are you serious? Get me my credit card. I'm buying my ticket now!"
Woody Allen's newest feature You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger opens today in movie theaters. It's currently confusing me with its Curse of The Jade Scorpion or The Purple Rose of Cairo -like silhouette poster. With this move the marketing department has made me recall both the worst and the best from Woody Allen's filmography simultaneously. It's very schizo... maybe this means the new feature will be right smack dab in the middle, neither essential nor embarrassing?
American Poster (left), a European treatment (right)
Why couldn't they have gone with the European poster treatment? European posters are always better. It's a law of Hollywood's nature.
To celebrate its release -- I haven't had time to see it yet -- I wanted to revamp an old list I started years ago. When Vicky Cristina Barcelona was cast in 2007, numerous media outlets were making ridiculously inaccurate claims about Scarlett Johansson being Woody's third most consistent muse (talk about A list tunnel vision!). Those inaccuracies of reporting died down as soon as Scarlett missed a movie. But this list I found interesting in the creation nonetheless and I hope you will in the reading. I've attempted a comprehensive list of collaborations but there are bound to be a few mistakes -- particularly in the area of tiny character actor roles so do note any omissions should you spot them in the comments.
For this ranking, I'm counting only the feature films he directed (plus his third of New York Stories and his one telefilm Don't Drink the Water). The actors, male and female, who've logged the most time with the prolific writer/director are...
Woody Players ... Quantitatively Speaking
01 26 Times.Woody Allen himself. Well you do have to direct yourself if you're also acting. It's 27 if you count a film he didn't direct but wrote & starred in: Play it Again, Sam.
0213 Times.Mia Farrow is the queen. Remarkably and horrifically, despite the plentiful acting nominations earned by Woody Allen films, she's still never been nominated for an Oscar.
Keaton in Sleeper, Love and Death, Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan, Radio Days and Manhattan Murder Mystery
037 and 7.5 Times.Diane Keaton is the runner up woman. Her most famous appearance was for her Oscar win as Annie Hall but she returned to the fold rather blissfully as his wife in Manhattan Murder Mystery and proved that the two of them hadn't lost an ounce of their chemistry. One wonders why they haven't tried an eighth time... (or ninth time if you could Play it Again, Sam which Woody did not direct so we gave her a half point there).Fred Melamed, who so recently nailed his supporting role in the Coen Bros' A Serious Man as huggy Sy Ableman, probably looked familiar to you. That's because he's all over the place in the Woody filmography albeit in small roles.And finally, there'sJulie Kavner. Her most memorable part was as Woody's co-worker in Hannah and Her Sisters. Yes that's "Marge Simpson" we're talking about.
046 Times. Maurice Sonnenberg and Peter Catellotti have roles like "Movie Theater Patron" in Anything Else or "Sound Recordist" in Celebrity. But since they're in six movies each, one assumes they're either spectacular extras or friends with Woody or the casting director.
Stiers in Jade Scorpion; Wiest in Bullets; Shawn in Radio Days
055 Times.Dianne Wiest Wiest won both of her very deserved Oscars for Allen pictures (Hannah and Her Sisters & Bullets Over Broadway). If you've ever wondered why actors are so obviously desperate to work with him, consider this: He's guided thespians to 15 nominations with 6 wins among them - one of the best records of all time.) The instantly recognizable Wallace Shawn has also been in a whole handful of Woody film albeit in smaller roles. You may remember him as The Masked Avenger in Radio Days. David Ogden Stiers (of TV's MASH fame) was another regular. 064.5 Times.Louise Lasser has appeared in 4 films but she also does voice work in his first film What's Up Tiger Lily (1966) so let's allow for that with this special designation. Same goes for Tony Roberts, who appeared most famously in Annie Hall. His count would be 5 if you allowed for Play it Again, Sam but Woody only wrote that film and didn't direct it, so we'll give him a half credit there.
[clockwise from top left: Lasser in Bananas; Roberts in Annie Hall; Waterston in September; Judy Davis in Husbands and Wives
074 Films.Judy Davis nearly won an Oscar for Husbands and Wives.Sam Waterstonalso appears in four films. His most significant role is, if I'm remembering correctly, in September but this was notoriously not a happy film, having been reshot and delayed and not causing much of a stir when it opened despite Woody's semi-popularity at the time.
083 Films.Scarlett Johansson has the leading role in three of his films, winning the most mileage from their first outing, Match Point. Alan Alda has also worked three characters in the Woody gallery, most notably in Crimes and Misdemeanors. The following actors have also been in three Woodys: Danny Aiello,Philip Bosco (a familiar TV face last seen on Damages), Frances Conroy (all of her roles predate the Six Feet Under career peak),Blythe Danner (Gwynnie's mom!) Julie Halston, Annie Joe Edwards and Camille Saviola and Jack Warden.
Theron in Celebrity; Daniels in Purple Rose; Hemingway in Manhattan; Huston in Manhattan Murder Mystery; Balaban in Deconstructing Harry; Ullman in Small Time Crooks; Clarkson in Whatever Works
101.5 Films.Christopher Evan Welch, pictured left, Vicky Cristina Barcelona's omniscient narrator, actually appears physically in Whatever Works. (He can currently be seen as "Grant Test" on AMC's new series Rubicon.) Great speaking voice, eh?
∞1 Film. Everyone with a SAG card... or thereabouts. Though when you look at people who made very strong impressions in their sole appearance, you do wonder why there wasn't another film. I'm thinking of Martin Landau (Crimes and Misdemeanors - Oscar nom), Elaine May (Small Time Crooks -NSFC Best Supporting Actress) and Goldie Hawn (Everyone Says I Love You) in particular, who all seemed like natural fits in the Woody-verse. Most of the members of the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger ensemble are newbies save for Brolin and Bremner making their second films. Midnight in Paris, which recently completed shooting, is entirely Allen virgins but for Kathy Bates who was last seen as a prostitute in his experimental black and white picture Shadows and Fog (1991).
As Peg Boggs, the perkiest, friendliest Avon lady you’ll ever meet at the cinema, Wiest introduced Edward Scissorhands (1990) to the curious inhabitants of pastel-perfect suburbia with the kindliest demeanour seen in a Tim Burton film; she’s the most good-natured character he’s conjured yet. She trots from house to house in matching mauve, enthusiastically spouting her cosmetic spiel, but getting no joy from the idle ladies of Burton’s uniformly stylised Fantasyville, America. So off to the dank, dark castle on the hill she goes - and finds a guy with mangled scissors for hands. Edward needs love, acceptance and Peg offers it; she’ll be the mother he never had. But she thinks he needs a makeover too - it’s his scarred and pallid complexion which brightly troubles her: “at the very least let me give you a good astringent - and this will help you to prevent infection,” she offers with a nod and a smile.
Mother courage: Wiest, as Peg, wanders Ed's castle for cosmetic custom in Edward Scissorhands
Peg’s the motherly vanguard: a polite, one-woman call to arms for the housewives of Burton’s sickly-sweet suburbia to embrace the change and accept the strange. They get their hedges, pooches and bonces trimmed and fulfil their gossip quota for a year, but when it’s open season for exploiting the scissor-handed one - due to a series of unfortunate incidents unattributable to Depp’s Ed - Peg’s the one who sticks by him. A character like her stands for what Burton’s really getting at, what he’s always getting at: embedding the otherworldly into the everyday. She takes the sharp-fingered weirdo in and oh-so-nicely dismisses the mediocrity of middle-America with pleasant tilt of the head to top it off. She’s spearheading Burton’s cutesy damning of selfish small-town mores like a lightly-rouged trooper.
Wiest 'making up' for Edward's lost time in Edward Scissorhands
Wiest’s scenes with Depp were a joy to watch again (it’s been roughly ten years since I saw the film). Looking at it now I can see why Burton cast her. No one does homely eccentricity quite like Wiest. Whether she’s slapping Depp with make-up, dressing him up in ill-fitting clothes or proudly parading him around town, their shared screen time is one of the most becoming components of the film. In fact, they have just as much of a central relationship as do Edward and Kim (Winona Ryder). And the bit where Peg talks about him leaving for everyone’s good? Well, that bit just cuts me up.
Take Two: Quiet on set: Dianne Wiest, synecdochally, is acting
Despite two viewings I’m still rather baffled by the fiction vs. reality conundrums in Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York (2008). I’m sure there’s some definable logic to the repetitious characterisations and psychological brain boggling of his directing debut, but I’m happy to remain blissfully none-the-wiser for now. Like David Lynch’s and, of course, Michel Gondry’s cine-universes, what’s real, dream, movie (in this instance, play... performance art) or merely imagined is somewhat beside the point; the journey through Kaufman’s monumentally dissociative deathly fugue-movie is the crux of the matter. The goods lay in how Caden’s (Philip Seymour Hoffman) slippery grip on existence comes unstuck, and the women who accompany him along the way - especially cleaning lady Ellen Bascomb.
What is apparent is that Kaufman’s a one-man female-talent magnet. He fruitfully snagged Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Emily Watson for his first directing gig; years of screenwriting respect are splendidly rewarded with some of filmdom’s finest female thesps. But of all of them, the one Synecdoche lady who bested all the above six - and quietly, elegantly walked off with the film - was Wiest as Millicent Weems, the woman Caden casts as the aforementioned Ellen Bascomb, who then (as either Ellen or Millicent) plays the final, “weirdly close” version of Caden.
Wiest as Ellen, as depicted via the stunning paintings of artist Alex Kanevsky, who provided Synecdoche, New York with his talents
Things get tricky, but it’s in the film’s almost unbearably elegiac last 15 minutes where - despite the eternally-burning house, endless enactments within re-enactments of Caden’s life/play and the musings on the inscrutability of life - the film hits a perplexing and gut-punching emotional stride. Amid a rolling, constantly-dissolving sequence of Caden’s last actions, a peek into what the film may be really about is hinted at.
A brief shot of a lonely Wiest - bookended by past and present snippets from her (real?) life - staring out of an open window, her face crumpled into teary despair, suggests we may have been watching Ellen’s life, not Caden’s, all along. This shot, accompanied by the static-faltering audio cues that she feeds Caden through an earpiece, as he strolls through the body-strewn devastation of his Synecdoche set, ushers in the end of the film. As he sits with the woman who played Ellen’s mother in a re-enactment (dream?), she disconnectedly delivers Synecdoche, New York’s final three-letter word that stops the film dead.
Mrs. Mop: Wiest cleans up for Caden in Synecdoche, New York
Wiest is the key component of Kaufman’s film: it’s all her (in the way that Inland Empire could actually be about Grace Zabriskie’s visitor - due to one telling late shot in that film - more than it's about Laura Dern’s Nikki/Susan.) Wiest plays her triple role with subtly affecting shifts in tone. The beauty of her performance(s) is how she underplays each mournful angle of the women she’s portraying; there’s an uncanny sadness, hinting at something more, right from her first scene. Despite her fragmentary moments, Wiest makes each one matter for the brief amount of time she’s on screen. Things get very blurry and indistinct indeed, but she guides us through Kaufman’s head-scratcher casually but regretfully, gently evoking all the feeling that the earlier parts of the film lay in place for her. Now, I don't know about Caden, but if Kaufman and Lynch could just hook up and make a mind-warping movie with Wiest and Zabriskie as a pair of bizarre, neighbourly cleaning ladies I’d die a happy man.
Take Three: Holly-Woody
Of the five films Wiest made with Woody Allen, her role as recovering coke-head and flaky actress, Holly, in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) was perhaps her best. It was also one of the most deserving Supporting Actress Oscar wins of the last 30 years). Of course she won a second for Bullets over Broadway, but Holly’s the Woody gal getting the Take Three treatment.
A disastrous date in progress
Holly is the more forceful, wayward and insouciant sibling - the black sheep of Hannah’s clan. Where Hannah herself (Mia Farrow) and Lee (Barbara Hershey) were passively thoughtful and fretfully adulterous respectively, Holly was the sloppy interloper, still very much in the process of shaking off the remnants of her former self; still asking her sister for money or favours. (The scene where Holly sheepishly asks Hannah if she can borrow $2000 shows off Holly’s blithe dependency to a tee.)
One of Wiest’s – and indeed Hannah’s - best moments is when Sam Waterston gives Holly and April (Carrie Fisher) a tour of his favourite New York architecture. Wiest’s resigned interior monologue in the car afterwards, when, much to her chagrin, she gets dropped off first, is one of the most concisely delivered in an Allen film, and unreservedly sums up Holly’s regretful and self-depreciating attitude to love:
"Naturally I get taken home first. Well, obviously he prefers April. Of course I was so tongue-tied all night. I can't believe I said that about the Guggenheim - my stupid little roller-skating joke. I should never tell jokes. Mom can tell 'em and Hannah, but I kill 'em... I hate April -- she's pushy...
Now they’ll dump me and she’ll invite him up. I blew it – and I really like him a lot. Oh screw it, I’m not gonna get all upset. I’ve got reading to do tonight. Maybe I’ll get into bed early. I’ll turn on a movie and take an extra Seconol.”
Wiest’s facial expressions are perfectly in sync with her voice-over monologue. Her face adds to what’s said; her eyes aptly convey Holly’s agitated acquiescence. Undoubtedly it was moments like this that went toward her nabbing that first Oscar. Holly’s unlucky, can’t get the breaks, and Wiest ensures we give a shit every step of the way. Her impatient and jumpy neediness to be liked translates wonderfully.
Wiest is a perfect fit for Woody’s world; it’s no wonder he used her five times (and let’s hope for a sixth in future). Her often mile-a-minute line delivery never misses a beat. Her natural, unaffected interactions with Farrow and Hershey are faultless. (With that title it’s vital they click, even when they don’t). A late moment, when all three meet up at a restaurant, showcases her flawless timing and comfort in the role: the camera roves around the table, catching every one of her well-placed lines and gestures. And with similar ingenuity she conveys two character extremes on the two very different dates she has with Allen’s Mickey, which speak volumes about Holly: one a punk gig (lively, involved), the other at a jazz club (fidgety, despondent).
Everything about Hannah is solid; it’s the perfectly-balanced study of Allen’s core, ongoing obsession with the lives of likeable, entertaining folk - folk we may rarely meet, but take pleasure in spending time with onscreen. Whenever I come back to Hannah it’s as deliciously, surprisingly funny as it was the first time. And Wiest’s scenes are always the ones I look forward to watching the most: they’re relaxed, agreeable and full of character.
Robert here, back with another entry in my series on great contemporary directors.
Maestro:Woody Allen Known For: witty comedies about life, dramas about love, often though not exclusively set in New York Influences: Early comedy owes much to cartoonist Jules Feiffer, drama much to Ingmar Bergman. Masterpieces: Anything I write here is going to get me in trouble. But let me say I agree with the popular sentiment that Annie Hallis most of all. Also Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors and maybe The Purple Rose of Cairo.
Disasters: Disaster is such a strong word and there are several that may (yet may not) qualify. Better than you remember: And for everyone there's at least one Allen film that the world seems to loathe but you love. For me it's Scoop (recently). Box Office: Annie Hall is tops with 136 mil. Favorite Actor:You may think it's Diane Keaton (7) or Mia Farrow (13) but in fact Woody Allen's favorite actor is Woody Allen, having starred in 17 Woody Allen movies.
Woody Allen is nothing if not a victim of his own prolificness. Anyone who steps up to the plate as much as he does is going to strike out a lot. But the hits he gets are often home runs, or at least triples (someone help me before I stretch this metaphor out any more). My standard for this series has been to ask whether a director has made at least two notable quality films in the past ten years. And though it's fair to say that he's been missing more than hitting lately, Woody Allen certainly meets that standard. The two films of note here, of course, are Match Pointand Vicky Christina Barcelona, though I also find Scoop to be just as good as both of them. I mention that not because I can really make a case for Scoop, but to point out how Allen's "bad" films even have worthwhile elements that speak to people. And so there are people who think Melinda and Melinda was great or who champion Whatever Works or Cassandra's Dream. The question with each new Woody Allen film isn't whether or not it'll be wholly embraced by the critical community and play for awards but also whether it'll be a small gem that you and you alone seem to appreciate.
Allen's career has been much discussed, especially in the 70's 80's and 90's. His thoughtful New York comedies, his sentimental love notes to jazz and early cinema, his Bergmanesque dramas have all been analyzed and analyzed again. To focus on his recent career is to focus on a man abroad, outside a city more closely associated with him than perhaps any other modern man. The two previous aforementioned films of note came from England and Spain respectively. Thematically they are about the nature of passion and how it is rooted in the seductive call of the foreign away from the warm and safe loving embrace of home. This is what Woody Allen thinks about when he's in Europe. While the man's heart clearly belongs to New York City, it is obvious that his experiences flirting with locations that belong to the hearts of others has breathed a new tilt into his career with interesting results.
A brief note about Allen's "lesser" films of recent years. While they may not have achieved a critical consensus, they still explore classic Woody Allen territory, touching on issues of love, loneliness, crime and guilt. They still feature quality acting and classically glamorous cinematography. It's comforting that Woody, if not consistently great, is still consistently Woody. And that's why we keep coming back and rooting for another hit. It's why his movies are still embraced and anticipated and rolled out at high status film festivals. It seems odd to suggest that perhaps more than any working director, Mr Allen's bad films are almost always worth seeing. Yet it requires a special kind of talent to accomplish that and it's worth celebrating. Allen's next film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiered in Cannes to pretty good reviews and will arrive for our consumption soon. If you're not excited for that, the next film after his next film will feature French First Lady Carli Bruni and is hotly anticipated for the fact. That's the thing about Woody Allen. There's always another shot at greatness around the corner. *
TV's greatest show has a love affair with the movies. So we have a love affair with TV's greatest show. This is Mad Men @ The Movies. Season 4 of the Emmy-winning series begins in 4 days.
Episode 2.7 "The Gold Violin" It's a rare Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton, left) focused episode (yay!) in which art director Sal is about to get a painful closet crush. Their coworker Harry Crane has a bad case of nerves about a meeting with the eccentric boss. Sal's Ken crush kicks off early when Ken references a musical.
Harry Crane: He wants to see me and only me. Ken Cosgrove: Isn't that from West Side Story?
West Side Story, my fav film, opened in fall 1961 and played forever becoming one of the biggest hits of all time (adjusted gross of $444 million) and winning 10 Oscars. The soundtrack spent over a year at #1 on the album charts and becoming the best selling record of the 1960s (in the U.S. at least) . It would have been number #1 still in the summer of 1962 when this particular episode takes place.
There's another song reference in this episode "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)", a tune which has its own cinematic moment, albeit infinitely less iconic. Woody Allen resurrected the oldie for Everyone Says I Love You. Skip ahead to the 2:00 mark for the silliness.
I'm a week late chiming in here but I can't let the topic pass me by as a major fan of Woody Allen's filmography. Before Woody's quality started to dip and I found Pedro Almodovar, he was my favorite living director.
I can't find a suitable link to the original text that won't charge me money (dagnabbit) but apparently The Times of London asked Woody Allen to name his best films last month and his answers have had the internet all atwitter if not a twitter (I have yet to see Woody Allen "trend" even if he's contributed far more to society than, say, Justin Beiber).
Anyway, in case you didn't hear or would still like to discuss (Always up for a Woody!), the legendary writer/director/comic chose these six films as the cream of his crop. I've listed them in chronological order.
Woody's favorites
Zelig (1983)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Husbands and Wives (1992)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Match Point (2005)
Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)
I find the list completely fascinating. I think how artists view their own work is always of interest even though I think, by and large, artists are not the best judges of their own work. Creation and criticism being two completely different skill sets (which is also what you can blame so many dumb Oscar honors on), especially about one's one work since there's no way to see it from a suitable distance
The obvious talking point is that Allen shunned what history has arguably favored as his holy trinity: Annie Hall, Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters. I was aware even as far back as 1987 that Woody didn't think as highly of Hannah and Her Sisters as the public and Oscar voters did -- he was all about David Lynch's Blue Velvet in 1986 if I recall -- and thought he'd done something wrong with Hannah when it became popular. But that he wouldn't list his late 70s giants as his best does surprise me.
Oscar's favorite Woody Allen pictures Hall (5 noms/4 wins) Bullets (7 noms/ 1 win) Hannah (7 noms/ 3wins)
But then, no one seems to agree on these things. If you look around the web (Cinematical, Vanity Fair, Ken Levine, Awards Daily) everyone claims a different "best". To my mind that's a healthy argument that the man has made a lot of fine films, even if he himself doesn't think so stating
I've squandered an opportunity that people would kill for. I have had complete artistic freedom... There are a few better than others, half a dozen, but it's a surprising paucity of worthwhile celluloid.
It surely wouldn't kill him to slow down a little bit and fine tune his screenplays these days -- the concept is often better than the execution, now -- but I think he underestimates his early work.
The Best of Woody according to Nathaniel? This is how I'd personally rank them.
Nathaniel's favorites
Manhattan (1979)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Annie Hall (1977) (all three are perfection)
Husbands and Wives (1992) (disgustingly underappreciated due to the scandalous climate in which it premiered)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (also terrific)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (give or take a few others depending on my mood. But this one is just so rewatchable/funny.)
A lot of critics swear by Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) but I seem to have totally forgotten it. I cannot recall one single thing about it (???) A revisit is definitely in order.
You know what you have to do in the comments, don't you?
Alexa here with some art therapy. Lately I've been spying all kinds of great original art with directors as a subject. I love to see if there's any intersection between the artists' individual styles and that of their subjects. Here's a small gallery for your viewing pleasure.
Woody in his natural habitat. Buy the print at Mulford Arts.
Finally, I just had to update my coaster post from the holidays to mention that Kelly Puissegur has added more directors to her coaster series (including Tim, Francis, Roman, and Sofia)! Check them all out at her shop.
