DVD Review: Manhattan (A+)

Manhattan (1979)
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway and Michael Murphy
MPAA: R
Grade: A+

Review by Scott Standish

Every film critic has their underdog movie, the film that they feel just does not get enough respect. For me, that would have to be Woody Allen's 1979 black and white masterpiece Manhattan. Funny, touching and insightful, this is one of the few classics that I can watch over and over again and never be bored.

Woody Allen plays Isaac, a recently divorced writer of a Saturday Night Live style sketch comedy show. He's in his forties and yet he is dating Tracy (played magnificently by Mariel Hemingway), a high school girl. Tracy is extremely mature for her age but Isaac still feels that Tracy's too young for him. Isaac refuses to allow the relationship to grow serious (despite Tracy's best efforts). Meanwhile his best friend Yale is having an affair with a bizarre writer of novelizations, Mary (played by Diane Keaton).

In a fit of self righteousness Isaac quits his TV writing gig, only to realize he's made a mistake days after. With no funds coming in, he needs to move to a smaller apartment (with rusty water and weird sounds coming from upstairs). Isaac breaks up with Tracy and develops a crush on Mary, who is getting fed up playing second fiddle to Yale's wife Emily.

Manhattan is about people struggling to find happiness and some sense of order to their lives. Isaac's ex-wife (Meryl Streep) has left the neurotic Isaac to find happiness with her lesbian lover. Part of her liberation entails writing a book about her life which of course causes Isaac pain. Isaac is trying to sort out his insane life but the more that he tries, the more messed up it becomes. At one point he complains to himself "I feel like we're in a Noel Coward play. Someone should be making martinis."

The writing in Manhattan is brilliant (nominated for an Academy Award) and this film has a near perfect balance of comedy and drama. The black and white photography by Gordon Willis is absolutely stunning. This film is like a visual love poem to Manhattan. The music is George Gershwin. About as perfect a comedy as you will find, Manhattan is a film that I can honestly recommend to just about anyone.

And why should you trust me? Because, as Tracy tells Isaac: "Not everybody gets corrupted. You have to have a little faith in people."

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