“God, she’s beautiful. She’s got the prettiest eyes. She looks so sexy in that sweater. I just want to be alone with her and hold her and kiss her and tell her how much I love her and take care of her. Stop it you idiot, she’s your wife’s sister.”
Affairs Of The Heart!
That is dialogue from one of Woody Allen’s greatest films, and it touches on a subject he has tackled in both his personal and professional life…infidelity.
Sex, Infidelity And Murder!
Yes, Woody Allen has had an “unruly” life. Accusations come up time and again about allegations made years ago against Allen, and these stories threaten to overshadow the work of one of America’s greatest filmmakers.
It is Allen’s messy personal life that has clouded his professional work for many, especially since he has touched on some of our darkest instincts in his later films.
Allen’s ability to attract some of the world’s biggest stars, like Scarlett Johansson, allow him to make and release a new movie every year. Some of great, some aren’t, but every so often he will make a movie that tackles the darkest part four souls…
His controversial breakup with Mia Farrow has brought added attention to the content of some of his films, and I wanted to focus on three of his movies that deal with infidelity, betrayal and revenge…dark subjects that just happen to be at the core of three of his greatest films…
Woody’s Infidelity Trilogy!
The Director has taken on the subject of infidelity in increasingly dark ways….it all began in the 80’s with one of his masterpieces:
Hannah And Her Sisters
In 1986, Allen introduced us to Hannah, an Actress with a heart of gold who is the one who keeps her family grounded – we also meet her sisters, quirky and troubled women with tensions always simmering just below the surface. the movie focuses on the bonds between them and the infidelities that drive them apart. Here is the trailer:
Hannah is played by Mia Farrow, and in the film her husband, played by Michael Caine, falls in love with Hannah’s sister, played by Barbara Hershey….here is what he thinks as he sees her…beautifully written and emotionally devastating…
“God, she’s beautiful. She’s got the prettiest eyes. She looks so sexy in that sweater. I just want to be alone with her and hold her and kiss her and tell her how much I love her and take care of her. Stop it you idiot, she’s your wife’s sister.”
Michael Caine won an Oscar for best supporting actor for his work in this film…
Dianne Wiest plays the other sister, who is also struggling to find love. Wiest also won a supporting actress Oscar for this role. Her performance as the troubled but funny sister contrasts nicely with Hershey.
One of the best parts of the film is Allen’s use of poetry in the film. For example, in one scene Michael Casine gives Hershey an e.e.cummings poem, which contains the line:
“nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands”
Allen was still with Mia Farrow at the time, and the themes of lust and desire in this film certainly carry more weight based on what was happening privately. Farrow also starred in his next examination of lust and betrayal – but now he has added another, even more sinister layer – murder…
Crimes & Misdemeanors
This just might be my favorite of Allen’s serious films: a dark look at lust, betrayal and how someone can justify the evil of murder…here is the trailer:
Martin Landau has never been better as a successful Dentist whose affair with flight attendant Anjelica Huston threatens all that is dear to him…
Anjelica Huston is terrific as the mistress who demands more from Landau than he can give her…you really feel the pain she feels when she realizes he will never leave his perfect family for her…and when her pleas turn to threats, Landau turns to his brother for help. Jerry Orbach is also terrific as the brother who knows people who can take care of the problem…
Every single person in this film is at the top of their game: Landau especially gives the performance of his life – and the rest of the cast is flawless as well, Mia Farrow and Alan Alda included…
“Crimes And Misdemeanors” is a dark meditation on the evil in all of us, and the events in our lives that unleash it…soon after this film, Allen and Farrow broke up in a shocking scandal, as Allen ended up marrying Farrow’s adopted daughter.
The Director’s personal life has clouded his films ever since…with much more of a focus on subjects that he chooses to tackle in his films…which leads to what I consider to be his darkest film ever…
“Passion Temptation Obsession”
As you can see, the Director hasn’t shied away from the issues that have dogged him in his personal life – these three words describe his own life as much as they do this film, and “Match Point” just may be his darkest look at lust and infidelity ever…
Match Point
Tennis becomes a metaphor for life in Allen’s most serious film ever. First, take a look at the trailer:
Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as a tennis instructor who hits the motherlode when he marries Emily Mortimer, the daughter of wealthy businessman Brian Cox. His future is assured, until he begins an affair with Scarlett Johansson…
Of course, the affair puts everything at risk…kudos must go to Scarlett Johansson, who has never been better – her portrayal of a woman who won’t be pushed aside by a cheating husband is as emotionally raw as you’ve ever seen her…
“Match Point” is brilliant – and a perfect end to this infidelity trilogy: each film explores the darkness inside each of us, but by “Match Point”, Allen has offered up the most unsettling scenario of all…I don’t want to say more, but this cast is up to the challenging material – all three of these are must see films!
And don’t forget that the best film of 2013 was Allen’s brilliant “Blue Jasmine” – read all about it here…
Let me know what you think!
