Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Directed by Woody Allen

Film Review

Taking its cue from a similarly titled well-known novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crimes and Misdemeanors offers a darkly compelling study in guilt and existential angst, and is easily one of Woody Allen's finest films.  The midlife crises of two wildly different characters (one brilliantly played by Allen himself) are run alongside one another and finally come together in the film's bitterly ironic denouement.  One's capacity to deal with guilt depends crucially on the kind of person you are, and so whilst one man literally gets away with murder, another agonises over a far lesser crime.  The genius of the film is that, whilst it deals with weighty themes, it is unceasingly funny, in a way that does not detract from the seriousness of its underlying subject.  Allen's flair for observational comedy has never been so well-tuned to extract laughs from his audience, and the authenticity of each of his characters also attests to his skill as a writer.

Crimes and Misdemeanors is not only superbly written and directed (one of the director's best since Annie Hall), it also features one of the best ensemble casts of any Woody Allen film, and with such fine actors as Martin Landau, Claire Bloom, Anjelica Huston, Alan Alda and Mia Farrow - not forgotting Allen himself - all turning in top-notch performances, the film could hardly fail to please.  Cast as the crassest of film producers, Alda gets the best lines - his character's glib aphorisms cannot held lodging themselves permanently in your brain: "If it bends, it's comedy. If it breaks it isn't" and "Comedy is tragedy plus time."  Hence Allen's acid riposte: "What is the guy so upset about? You'd think nobody was ever compared to Mussolini before."  An immense critical and commercial success on its first release, the film was nominated for three Oscars - in categories of Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Landau) and Best Original Screenplay - but it did not win a single award.  Today, it is almost universally acknowledged as one of the absolute highpoints of Woody Allen's long and productive career, and it should also rate as one of the most enjoyable black comedies American cinema has ever given us.  Dostoyevsky's book may be a profound literary masterpiece, but Allen's film is much, much funnier.

Film Synopsis

Judah Rosenthal is a successful ophthalmologist who, despite being a happily married man, has begun an affair with an air stewardess, Dolores Paley.  When Judah tells Dolores it is time to end their affair, his mistress retaliates with threats to expose both their relationship and Judah's dodgy past financial dealings.  Judah's brother, Jack, a man with underworld connections, offers to solve all of his problems, by hiring a hitman to kill Dolores.  Meanwhile, small-time filmmaker Clifford Stern wishes he could murder his brother-in-law Lester.  With his career going nowhere, Clifford has no choice but to accept a commission from Lester, a successful television producer, to make a document about him.  The only good thing about this ghastly vanity assignment is that it brings Clifford into contract with Lester's attractive young associate, Halley Reed.  Discovering they have a shared interest in old movies, Clifford and Halley begin a relationship, although Clifford is already married and Halley is still recovering from her own failed marriage.  As Clifford fails to resolve his personal crises, Judah takes the initiative and has his troublesome mistress killed...