Synopsis: Diane Keaton stars as Carol Lipton, a bored Manhattan housewife who becomes convinced that her next-door neighbor has committed a murder. When her skeptical husband Larry (Woody Allen) rejects the idea, Carol turns to a flirtatious friend (Alan Alda) to help her search for clues. And as their enthusiasm for the case grows, so does their interest in each other. Spurred on by jealousy–and by a seductive writer (Anjelica Huston) who’s also excited by the mystery–Larry reluctantly joins the chase, only to learn that much more than his marriage is at stake.
***********************************************************************
I hadn’t seen this one in over ten years, and it was well worth the wait. Oddly enough, I remembered it as being more of a comedy, but it’s only lightly humourous. Frankly, this is mostly a murder mystery – but a fun one!
I don’t know much about Allen, personally or professionally (aside from his films, I mean), but it’s interesting to note that, for this one, he returned to key players of his earlier successes ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘Manhattan’. In fact, the last time Diane Keaton played in one of his films was in ‘Manhattan’, and the last time Marshall Brickman wrote for Allen was also for ‘Manhattan’.
Was he trying to recapture a magic that he felt was lost in the decade-plus since? Hmmm…
Well, it almost worked. In fact, it’s one of the better Woody Allen numbers, as it’s not derivative of something he’d already done before (sadly, he would plunder the idea many years later for his own ‘Scoop’). The interplay between all the characters is spot-on, and the story is engaging – the way the mystery unfolds is quite good, because it avoids some conventions of the genre.
If not for the fairly unrealistic ending (or the last 10 mins, really), I’d have given this a 9.0 and put it in the top tier of Allen films. But, as it stands, it’s simply one of the truly enjoyable ones. One that I will certainly watch again many many times.
thecriticaleye 