There is no such thing as a “bad” Woody Allen movie. Just
that there are those that you want to watch over and over again: Manhattan,
Match Point, or even Scoop (which I love) Hannah and Her Sisters…Should I go
on? And then there are those that you watch once, somewhat enjoy the
enchantment and then you can let dust sit on it (off the top of my mind Everyone
Says I Love You). Well, that’s not completely fair. Allen movies deserve to be
dusted. This one is one of the movies that you can let dust sit on it.
I don’t take criticism well and don’t want to bring the same
down feeling on someone else, so I’ll start off with this. For someone who
brings us Match Point, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Scoop (not critically
acclaimed…actually quite the opposite, but had to throw it in there), Midnight
in Paris, and Blue Jasmine among others, in the span of only 8 years, I think
seeing a not even terrible, just “okay”, movie from him is completely fine. So,
give him a break!
The storyline, as you might very well know, is about a girl
who claims to be in contact with spirits and the other world or a “medium”
(played by Emma Stone), and a magician (played by Colin Firth), who is invited
by a fellow magician to meet this “medium” to unravel her work being fake.
I believe Allen had written this magician part for himself.
A typical Allen characteristic that we have all come to know, who is afraid of
death and always dwells on the thought of after life and seeks a reassurance
that life will not end by death. This same character, as he puts it himself, desperately
needs to know that the girl is not a fake and that afterlife truly exists. When
I came out of the theater, all I could think was that Allen himself would’ve
been perfect for this part. Much funnier than the English gentleman that Firth
is (he is one of my favorite actors, it’s just that he wasn’t exactly cut out
for this part; whereas the stuttering, nervous, overly-confident Allen would’ve
made this movie memorable. Probably one of the reasons why Scoop has been
engraved in my mind as a memorable movie). Probably the only reason that held
him back from playing this part was his age. Another thought that kept bugging
me while watching the movie was that I hope he sticks around much much longer…I
can’t imagine a year go by without a feature from him.
Back to the movie from my (ironically) grave thoughts…I wasn’t
particularly fond of the quick fix that Allen used by the end to bring
everything to the end. Many things remained unresolved, that for me was a
little uncomfortable! I mean, there are movies that are supposed to let you
lingering so you can have your own take on it. But I guess what happened here
was that he had this story of life and death and he didn’t care much how it
should come to an end. The same goes for the love story. It wasn’t well thought
out and there was little to no chemistry. He didn’t go in depth as much as he
should have to show us the relationship that grows. It was…it was too abrupt!
BUT! I bring this note to an end with this…the 2 stars that
I have given to this movie is not to be compared with my previous 2 star-rated
movies. It is only to be used for comparison with other Allen movies. Otherwise
it would be an extrapolation (didn’t think I can apply biostatistics to daily
life. Huh! New horizons to be explored!). The magic of Allen’s work still is
tangible in this movie and you’ll enjoy the dialogue as much as any of his
other works…only that the frequency of enjoyment will not be as often as some
of his past films!
Footnote: Thank you for condolences over Chris Martin’s
coupling with Jennifer Lawrence. But if he is to end up with another person, I’d
rather it be that crazy, adorable Jennifer Lawrence. I wish I could call her my
BFF one day. This wish beats the thought of having Martin as my BF!
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