MANHATTAN

I don't think I'd seen this film since it first came out, and obviously a lot of water has flowed under Brooklyn Bridge since then.

There's been all those allegations made regarding Woody Allen's private life which I have tried not to pay too much attention to, if only because I try to separate the artist as a person from the artist per se.  (I have no problem enjoying a masterpiece such as 'Chinatown' even though I am fully aware that its director is probably not a very nice person).

In the case of Allen, keeping that separation is more difficult in this film where he is the lead performer and where he seems to be almost playing himself.  There is a scene here where his character Isaac lists the things that make life worth living, and it is hard to believe that this is not Allen's personal list.

Things are made worse by the fact that 42-year old Isaac starts the film in a relationship with 17-year old Tracy (played surprisingly well by Mariel Hemingway).

The other worry I had going into this film was how well it would hold up given that  Allen's reputation as a filmmaker has declined due to the variable quality of his output over the last three decades.

I am somewhat relieved to report that in the main I still found very much to enjoy.  If you don't find Allen's comic persona funny this is not the film for you, but I found plenty of lines to amuse me throughout.

The story (such as it is) is simple. At the outset Isaac is with Tracy, whilst Isaac's married friend Yale is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton, who else?).  Inevitably Isaac and Mary hit it off, and ditch Tracy and Yale respectively.

This film is often called Allen's love letter to New York, which of course it is, but it struck me that it might also be his love letter to Diane Keaton, so warm and delightful is their chemistry together in the middle section of the film.  There's a scene early on in their romance when they take shelter from a thunderstorm in a planetarium where the black-and-white photography combines beautifully with their dialogue to create something quite magical.

Of course the film is stunning to look at, and then there is the gorgeous music of Gershwin, so it's not hard to see why this was a commercial hit, coming hot on the heels of 'Annie Hall', even if Allen himself reputedly dislikes it.

But the film does have two serious problems.

First, there is no getting away from the queasy nature of the Isaac-Tracy relationship, especially in a scene when they kiss.  It helps a bit that Tracy is portrayed as emotionally mature, so it doesn't seem that she is being exploited, but even so.

Then there is the unsatisfactory ending.  Somewhat implausibly Mary decides she's still in love with the rather bland Yale, and this causes Isaac to regret dumping Tracy. This leads to a final scene which has Isaac trying to persuade Tracy not to leave for London to pursue her acting career.  Given that this is a great opportunity,  and nothing previously in the film suggests that Isaac has any deep feelings for her, this is just selfish behaviour on his part.  Thankfully she resists his efforts. 

Leaving these quibbles aside I guess I have to face up to the fact that I am the sort of shallow, immoral person who still enjoys peak-Woody Allen.

Oh dear. 

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do