Score : 9/10
Year : 1978
Country: USA
Language: English
Duration: 1h33 (IMDB) ; 1h28 (French DVD)
Flynn, Renata and Joey are sisters. Each
have chosen creative careers and have strenuous relationships with their
ice-cold, emotionally distant mother, Eve. As Their father Arthur announces
separating from Eve, everyone's lives starts to spin out of control.
As usual, Woody Allen - only behind the camera for
this film - deals with obsessive characters and family dysfunctional relationships,
and delineates emotional turmoils and bickering between each
of the family members, and each of them with their respective spouses/
significant others.
I enjoy Allen's flair for the dramatic and his artistically-made
films ; he uses color associations to depict the emotions and life
circumstances of his characters to a perfection (using universal color
associations in our current culture, off course).
Thus, we
see greys, beiges and off-whites to depict monotonously sad lives and people -
through their clothing and very sterile decors ; blacks depict the worse kinds
of depression and in each case.
Woody
pushes further by shooting scenes with claustrophobic angles and positions,
such as characters being stuck in corners, or surrounded by furniture -
possibly with windows that are farther away as distant hopes these characters
may have.
I really
love how Woody's scenes have specific goals, such as brighter colors to depict
happier situations or character/s and long sweeping shots, alternating from
internal prisons to possible escapes from these situations.
The
lighting choices for this entire film add to the overall atmosphere, with
very dim, hazy scenes, usually in narrow angles, but also some wide screens
with huge empty spaces.
As often,
there is a character that serves as a mouthpiece to Allen's own neurosis, and
an invisible psychiatrist in therapy sessions.
The acting
is solid by the entire casting, including very familiar faces...
I appreciate that Woody Allen has strongly depicted female characters in this and many other films.
The choice
of silent intro and outro were very wise, as the themes of this movie are very
serious ones ; considering this is a Woody Allen movie, I was agreeably
surprised there were only one and a half songs, whilst the rest of the movie
relied only on delivery.
The usual
monoraul recording ith muttering voices meant that we had to activate
subtitles, and the editor let their whiteness create a bit of annoying
"winking" with uneven bright moments in dark scenes - so once I
understand the entire dialogues, I'd like to watch the movie again at some
point, without those subtitles, and enjoy it better.
Starring:
Words of
caution to triggers :
Depression
is a major theme, as well as emotionally distant mother and a lot
of bickering.
There are
3 scenes that could potentially be triggering with suicide and drunken rape
attempt.
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