Woody Allan’s Manhattan disappoints me


Manhattan

IMDB

Year: 1979

Writer: Woody Allen

Director: Woody Allen

Rating: 2 out of 5

The movie starts with a forty something Woody Allan and his seventeen year old date at a dinner with his friend Yale (played by Michael Davis) and his wife. Yale confides to Woody that he is having an extra marrital affaire with a bright Journalist played by Diane Keaton. The movie then takes us through a tangled web of relationships, betrayals, insecurities and a dash of humour now and then.

I decided to watch Manhattan after seeing the fantastic rating it had in Rotten Tomatoes. The movie had its distinctly bright moments, but on the whole I found it boring and soporific. Woody Allan who also acts in this movie rants on and on and starts becoming quite a pain in the ear. I must acknowledge though that his character was well crafted – and perhaps getting on my nervs was intended. I should also acknowledge that I saw this movie immediately after watching Children of Heaven and so my expectations were rather high of Manhattan.

On the brighter side, the movie has a distinct comedy line and enables quite a few guffaws – that is if one is not fast asleep by then. If you have my taste, this movie is worth watching on a day when one has nothing else to do and when one is in a calm mood that could take a mediocre movie. But then, my taste may be peculiar atleast going by the high rating that the movie got in Rotten Tomatoes. You are the best judge for yourself.

My detailed reviews of movies can be found here and to see my ratings for various movies and short reviews, click here.


About Vivek Srinivasan

I work with the Program on Liberation Technology at Stanford University. Before this, I worked with the Right to Food Campaign and other rights based campaigns in India. To learn more, click here.

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