Indie Movie Review: 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger Starring Josh Brolin, Naomi Watts, and Frieda Pinto Directed by Woody Allen Rated R

In Woody Allen’s You Will Meet  A Tall Dark Stranger,  the actors’ minute understanding of shame and need has called into being a new word- "craugh"- a combination of cringing and laughter, characterized by the sinking feeling caused by watching people in a deep state of humiliation that is also funny. The cringe worthy quality of the self deluding, narcissistic and altogether real-ish characters made me close my eyes and grasp onto the arm of the critic next me, just as if I was watching a horror flick or a psychic Guantamo Bay for divorcees, aging lawyers and artists. 

The most craugh -worthy acting work is done by Brolin, who delivers a hale and hearty sliminess that makes the heart break and the skin crawl.  Hopkins evinces a desperation that is refreshing in light of his more well-known and menacing characters and Watts’ memorable scene with Antonia Banderas gives awhole  new dimension to the word shame.  Gemma Jones' work  is the most noteworthy as she smashingly plays a matriarch whose skittering and brutal neediness evoke a suicidal Miss Jane Marple.

For the family sired by Alfie (Hopkins) and Helena (Jones) the future is grim.  Sally (Watts), the offspring of this union, is married to Roy (Brolin), a failing writer struggling to complete a follow-up to his promising first novel.  The director creates his usual assembly of neurotic, funny characters and adds  one more member to his  cast- and that is Death itself.   As Allen closes up relentlessly on the self delusions of his characters he makes his point that people aren’t wilfully silly- it’s just that death and its henchman- inevitability, futility and failure- are putting the squeeze on everyone.   Even within Allen's gift at comedy, this movie seems  subtly like  a cry for help from a person who has overcome every obstacle but the grim reaper.  It’s as if Allen’s delight is diminished, and he's resorting to faking it.  There’s a degree of cynicism that makes a critic want to change her name to Dr. Freud and say, “Lighten up, Woods. Yes, you made being balding, smartass work for you, but there are some things none of us can beat.  The end of the line is one of ‘em.”    

Jones' matriarch, Helena has been recently ditched by her husband,  Alfie who turn, has decided to battle death, both past deaths and his own imminent one, by making the vanity rounds-gyms, tans, bimbos and Viagra.  Their daughter, Sally, desperate to keep her mother from falling off the edge, sends Helena to be emotionally babysat by  “psychic” Cristal, played by Pauline Collins. 

It’s funny and all, and kind of pretty to look at- pretty people, pretty art and pretty interesting dilemmas.  Allen’s incisive comedy is worthy of his idol Checkov.   It's just that Allen presents a sketchy compassion for his cinematic alter-egos that begs for just a tad bit more redemption.

It’s a solid movie, but missing something.  From Manhattan to Vickie Christina Barcelona, the real romance is often with the story’s setting or the off-beat charm of the characters.   Allen artfully and rightfully buries his cynicism in the latter movie in mounds of skin, threesomes and Javier Bardem and in the prior in New York city itself- a spoonful of sugar, if you will, for existential angst.  In You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Allen seems to be running out of any sort of enchantment or beauty with which to medicate his (and our) woe.

Comments

[jackson]

i disagree
this is one fine movie
life is sketchy too mate though we believe otherwise
cheers