Crimes and Misdemeanors

The first Woody Allen film I ever remember seeing was "What's New Pussycat". I couldn't have been older than 8 years old and my mother wanted to show it to me as she hadn't seen it since the '60s but remembered it being hilarious. That was my introduction to Woody Allen. 14 years later and many Woody Allen movies under my belt, I happened upon one on Netflix instant stream I hadn't seen before called "Crimes and Misdemeanors".

If ever "What's New Pussycat" had an antithesis, it would be "Crimes and Misdemeanors". The slapstick over the top comedy of the former is met in the latter with tragedy not only in the form of unrequited love and a failed career but also in the form of a very serious crime, hence the title. There are two plots that run the length of the film without ever interacting until the very last scene. In one, Judah, an aging optometrist (Martin Landau), is 2 years into an extramarital relationship that is getting out of control as the woman he is cheating on his wife with (Anjelica Huston) is essentially blackmailing him into leaving his wife of many many years. Judah must choose between wrecking his home life by telling his wife and family about the affair or doing something about the other woman. This plot is very Bergmanesque (I know, I know oy with the pretentious liberal arts thing) in that it is filled with all the big existential questions: What is religion? Is there a God? Can morality exist in a world devoid of a system of ethical rules?

The second plot is much lighter, I suppose. Woody Allen portrays a documentary filmmaker stuck in a marriage to a woman he is no longer in love with and with whom he hasn't slept since April 20th of last year ("I remember because it was Hitler's birthday"). He is charged with producing a film about his successful TV producer brother-in-law (Alan Alda, oh how I love you) when he'd much rather be putting together a documentary about an astounding philosophy professor. Lester is one of those Hollywood types who thinks only in dollars and cents and whose catchphrase: "If it bends, it's comedy. If it breaks, it's not" he repeats relentlessly to the point that I didn't even know what it meant anymore by the end of the film. Allen and Alda's characters couldn't be more opposite. Allen's Cliff constantly mocks Alda's superficial Lester, but when it comes down to it, he really envies him for his celebrity and all that it brings him. A light plot in the beginning ends sadly as Lester bests Cliff in a way that really counts.

Filmed in '89, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" carries a lot of similar tones as Allen's later film, "Match Point", but still manages to retain a comedic element that was definitely not present in "Match Point". It surprised me that I didn't like "Crimes and Misdemeanors" as much as I thought I would. I think that can be attributed in part to the cast. It was particularly off-putting to see the normally independent, eloquent, albeit older Anjelica Huston portray a psychotically desperate young woman who has no qualms about breaking up a decades-old marriage, because she is obsessed with her adulterous significant other.

"We're all faced throughout our lives with agonizing decisions, moral choices. Some are on a grand scale, most of these choices are on lesser points. But we define ourselves by the choices we have made. We are, in fact, the sum total of our choices. Events unfold so unpredictably, so unfairly, human happiness does not seem to be included in the design of creation. It is only we, with our capacity to love that give meaning to the indifferent universe. And yet, most human beings seem to have the ability to keep trying and even try to find joy from simple things, like their family, their work, and from the hope that future generations might understand more."

I love Woody Allen, but "Crimes and Misdemeanors" just isn't one of my favorites, although it did have some redeeming qualities. Maybe it will grow on me with age, because it certainly seems geared toward a relatively older audience. I'm sticking with "Annie Hall", "Hannah and Her Sisters", "Match Point", "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" for now. A good project would be to watch all of Allen's films when I have the time!