Movie Review - Crimes and Misdemeanors

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Starring Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Joanna Gleason, Angelica Huston, and Alan Alda

Directed by Woody Allen
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I try to enjoy Woody Allen.  However, more times than not, I find the guy's flicks filling me with ennui.  Maybe it's because I don't have the Jewish angst that seems to permeate through his films (at least the films in which he stars).  Maybe its because I can't ever see him as the character he portrays onscreen -- instead, it's simply Woody Allen up there, playing a role with no discerning characteristics from any other role he's played.  Flicks without the director in the starring role -- Whatever Works, Match Point -- are more successful, but Crimes and Misdemeanors stars Allen and is a disappointing bore.

Two distinct storylines are presented here that never come together and, to this viewer, didn't belong in the same movie.  The first deals with Martin Landau as an aging opthamologist who is cheating on his wife with Angelica Huston.  When Huston threatens to spill the beans, Landau gets his brother to kill her.  That would be the "crime" part of the title, I guess.  Story number two headlines Woody Allen who is living an unhappy marriage.  He meets Mia Farrow, he begins to fall for her, and he ponders leaving his wife.  I guess that's the misdemeanor.  [While it's true all of the actors listed above have characters with names, I never really felt any of them embodied those characters which is why I simply listed their real names.  Like Allen, it seems they were all just playing themselves...although I'm sure Landau never put out a hit on anyone.]

I guess this film falls more into the drama category for Allen rather than his comedy selections, but considering the stress Landau's character faces, there was never any worry from this viewer about his plight.  And the Woody Allen storyline...what a waste of time.  Based on some things I've read, this is considered one of the better Woody Allen flicks.  I have no idea why.

The RyMickey Rating:  D