Name: Manhattan (1979)
IMDb: link to IMDb
Genres: Comedy Country of Origin: USA.
Cast: Woody Allen as Isaac Davis, Diane Keaton as Mary Wilkie, Michael Murphy as Yale, Mariel Hemingway as Tracy, Meryl Streep as Jill, Anne Byrne Hoffman as Emily, Karen Ludwig as Connie, Shawn Wallace as Jeremiah.
Directed by: Woody Allen. Written by: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman.
The initial tableaux: The film features some fine shooting in black and white. Isaac, 42, has drinks with his long time friend Yale, Yale's wife Emily, and Tracey, his current girlfriend, who is 17 (yikes). Isaac's ex Jill, who left him for another woman, is writing a tell-all book about their marriage. Isaac decides to quit his well-paying job to write a book.
Delineation of conflicts: Isaac is not thrilled with Jill's book, but she is adamant about getting it published. Yale is having an affair with Mary, while Emily seeks the deeper commitment of children. Yale puts her off. Tracy would like Isaac to be happy, which is not ever going to be an easy thing. Isaac would like Tracy to have a normal happy youth; Tracy would like some commitment from Isaac. Isaac would like to be with his son more, but his obsession with intellect would probably never allow that. The triangle of Yale, Mary, and Isaac takes a number of turns, and has repercussions.
Resolution: The personal connections move forward, some for better, some for the worse. Yep, that is about it, but it's well done.
One line summary: Relationships in NYC.
Statistics:
a. Cinematography: 9/10 Beautifully shot. Loved the scenes of Mary and Isaac walking in the planetarium.
b. Sound: 7/10 The actors are not always miked well, so some of the conversations dropped out or were slurred. That sucked. The music on the other hand, was rather good, featuring sections of a number of Gershwin compositions. Of course, younger viewers who have not heard all these tunes dozens of times might disagree.
c. Acting: 7/10 I loved the performances of Michael Murphy, Diane Keaton, Woody Allen, and Mariel Hemingway. Meryl Streep I could have done without. I liked the short scene with Wallace Shawn.
d. Screenplay: 8/10 There were a good number of laughs. I am still wondering what 'interstellar perversion' is.
Final rating: 8/10
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