Manhattan

Release Year: 1979
Review: As humorous and thought provoking as any Woody Allen film. While I wouldn't rank it as Allen's masterpiece as some, it's a very good watch. I did have an issue with two major components of the movie, however. The first being the casting of Tracy, Allen's young love interest. While I believe that the character itself brings a lot of meaning to the film, and is well written, Mariel Hemingway plays too young, and is quite stiff. It verges on unsettling at times when you see Allen's character romantically involved with what looks like a twelve year old. The other issue I had was with the score of the film. While I am a fan of Gershwin I thought it was misplaced accompanying many of the scenes. This is somewhat surprising as I later read that listening to Gershwin and wanting to set it against New York was one of the inspirations Allen had for making the film. I felt, however, that the loud, almost upbeat orchestra clashed with the mellow, soothing black and white cityscapes that were so beautifully captured by cinematographer Gordon Willis.
Rating: 4/5