Every Wednesday, FM writers Simon Columb and Brogan Morris write two short reviews on Woody Allen films … in the hope of watching all his films over the course of roughly 49 weeks. If you have been watching Woody’s films and want to join in, feel free to comment with short reviews yourself! Next up is Zelig and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger…
Simon Columb on Zelig…
Before Forrest Gump was Zelig. Feeding a fictional character into history is central to the story of Leonard Zelig. Prior to Christopher Guest and his popular use of mockumentary in This is Spinal Tap, Woody Allen was there in 1983 (Allen’s Take the Money and Run from 1969 is one of the earliest uses of mockumentary in cinema). This is the story of Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a fictional character in the 1920’s dubbed a chameleon due to his extraordinary skill in changing form when stood next to a different man. If stood next to Native-American’s – he turns into a Native American. Zelig is innovative, confident and intriguing but it lacks a sense of pace or urgency. Once you know the skill, the consequence is less fascinating. Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow and Adolf Hitler all appear but Zelig is uninspiring. Shouldn’t he be the most interesting? Turns out, he isn’t.
Comment in response to Brogan’s review of Zelig on September 25th, 2013:
“Wow, you hated it! I love the surrealism but it doesn’t lead to much, and I feel that. But hate is a strong word and practically, I adore the use of footage – the close-ups of photographs while recordings play over the sequence give a sense of authenticity which, in and of itself, is comedic. Technically it is an achievement and that is surely something to be commended”.
Brogan Morris on You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger…
With a superior international cast – including a litany of British character actors gamely filling out supporting roles – You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is not one of Woody Allen’s best late-career films, but it’s an entertaining trifle nonetheless. In the midst of some swirling love car crash is Antonio Banderas as an art dealer, Naomi Watts as his assistant, Josh Brolin as her failing writer husband, Freida Pinto as the object of his affection, and Anthony Hopkins and Gemma Jones as Watts’ divorced parents, all elevating You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger beyond Allen’s fragile script. Rapidly shifting from one scenario to the next, the film doesn’t have much time for nuance, but it’s typical Woody, if only in basic form: Wryly funny, harshly cynical and imbued with farce. Which is to say Tall Dark Stranger is entertaining and well-performed, even if it’s not that memorable.
Brogan Morris – Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the young princes. Follow Brogan on Twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion.
Originally published November 13, 2013. Updated April 15, 2018.
