Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) – A Woody Allen flick
Director : Wooody Allen
Cast: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Anjelica Huston, Mia Farrow.
Crimes and misdemeanors is a story about two men Judah Rosenthal(Landau) a rich, revered ophthalmologist and Cliff Stern(Allen) a struggling documentary maker. Their stories are loosely connected as they face moral dilemmas.
Judah is worried about his mistress Dolores(Huston) who feels betrayed by Judah and threatens to go to his wife and reveal his affair and previous financial malpractice. Judah takes an easy way to murder her through his brother. Guilt stricken, he finds it hard to live with the crime initially but works through his culpability and moves on. The other story is of Cliff, a director who wants to make a documentary on Professor Levy, a renowned philosopher. In need of money he agrees to direct a documentary on his dimwit brother-in-law Lester whom he loathed much. Cliff dejected over his failing marriage falls in love with co-producer of the documentary Halley Reed(Farrow). But eventually Halley leaves for London and returns engaged with Lester. Movie ends with Cliff’s wife telling Lester she is leaving Cliff and Judah telling Cliff how someone can overcome the qualm with time.
The movie is one of the best Allen movies ever. The script is very good and draws reference to ‘Crime and Punishment’ by ‘Dostoyevsky’, though the protagonist in ‘Crime and Punishment ‘turns himself in for his crime unlike this movie. Allen revisits his previous work in Love and Death(1975) where the question of morality and justice is much debated. This film deals with existential subjects. Metaphorical use of Ben the rabbi going blind and Judah his ophthalmologist is laudable. To Ben everything is dark, meaningless without God. In a dream like sequence Judah says to Ben, he might have made some questionable moves. “God is a luxury I can’t afford”, says Judah which leaves him with no difference with Jack, the mobster who chose not to be bothered by ethics or morality.
Dinner at the childhood house is very significant in analyzing the different levels of moral dilemma. Judah asks, “What if a man has committed a crime?” His father who would choose faith over truth states in that case one would be punished in one way or another. His uncle says it’s only possible if one is caught and his aunt says, “And I say if he can do it and get away with it, and he chooses not to be bothered by the ethics, then he’s home free. Remember, history is written by the winners. And if the Nazis had won, future generations would understand the story of World War II quite differently.”
In the end when Cliff and Judah meets each other at the wedding of rabbi’s daughter and Judah presents his story as if a movie plot , Cliff’s conscience dictates he should had turned himself in, because in absence of God he would be forced to assume that responsibility himself. Judah thinks that could be a good Hollywood movie ending but not in reality.
Despite having a bleak plot the movie ends with the voice over narration of Professor Levy, “Events unfold so unpredictably, so unfairly, human happiness does not seem to be included in the design of creation. It is only we, with our capacity to love that give meaning to the indifferent universe. And yet, most human beings seem to have the ability to keep trying and even try to find joy from simple things, like their family, their work, and from the hope that future generations might understand more”, which reiterates the Rabbi’s sense of possibility who is now completely blind and dancing happily with his daughter.
Filed under: Film | Leave a Comment
No Responses Yet to “Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) – A Woody Allen flick”