Name: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
IMDb: link to IMDb
Genres: Drama, Comedy. Country of Origin: USA
Cast: Martin Landau as Judah Rosenthal, Claire Bloom as Miriam Rosenthal, Stephanie Roth as Sharon Rosenthal, Gregg Edelman as Chris, Anjelica Huston as Dolores Paley, Woody Allen as Cliff Stern, Jenny Nichols as Jenny (Cliff's niece), Joanna Gleason as Wendy Stern, Alan Alda as Lester, Sam Waterston as Ben, Zina Jasper as Carol, Delores Sutton as Judah's Secretary, Mia Farrow as Halley Reed, Caroline Aaron as Barbara (Cliff's sister), Jerry Orbach as Jack Rosenthal (Judah's brother).
Written and directed by: Woody Allen.
The initial tableaux: Ophthalmologist Judah is successful and respected. However, he's been having an affair with Dolores. Dolores wants to bring up the matter with Judah's wife Miriam, and clear the air. Judah would rather not.
Cliff is a maker of small films who has little success. His wife Wendy speaks to her brother Lester, who is very successful in Hollywood. She convinces Lester to get Cliff a job filming a biography on Lester. Cliff takes the job in order to fund his own projects.
Delineation of conflicts: Lester does not really want Cliff to direct his biography, but he does it as a favor to Wendy. Cliff does not want to do the piece, since he has no respect for Lester's pomposity. Cliff tries to connect with Halley, Lester's producer, in order to get additional funding for his documentary on Professor Levy. Filming Lester being Lester is a grand pain for Cliff.
Judah wants to break up with Dolores, but Dolores has other ideas, which include seriously fouling up his personal and professional life. Jack suggests a solution to Judah's problem, but Judah has qualms. Ben, Judah's rabbi and patient, counsels him to take the higher road: let the meeting happen, let disclosure happen, keep a clear conscience. Dolores escalates, so what does Judah do?
Resolution: Judah needs to solve his moral, financial, and personal dilemmas. Cliff needs to find his own success, and perhaps reignite his married life.
One line summary: Great performances and script.
Statistics:
a. Cinematography: 10/10 No problems, well done.
b. Sound: 8/10 The actors were well miked, and the background music was good.
c. Acting: 10/10 The great cast gave fine performances.
d. Screenplay: 8/10 Clever and well thought out.
Final rating: 9/10
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