Image Courtesy of Amazon.com
Director :
Woody Allen
Cast :
Will Ferrell……….Hobie
Neil Pepe……….Al
Stephanie Roth Haberle……….Louise
Radha Mitchell……….Melinda
Chloë Sevigny……….Laurel
Chiwetel Ejiofor……….Ellis
Michael J. Farina……….Man with dog
Josh Brolin……….Greg
Jonny Lee Miller……….Lee
Wallace Shawn……….Sy
Larry Pine……….Max
Matt Servitto……….Jack
Arija Bareikis……….Sally
Brooke Smith……….Cassie
Zak Orth……….Peter
The Movie
You either love Woody Allen movies or you hate them. It’s the same sort of feelings people have for Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm; it’s a neurotic, goofy sort of humor that fans adore and yet Allen really peaked with 1976’s Annie Hall. Beating out Star Wars, amongst others, for a Best Picture Academy Award, Annie Hall is Allen’s film-making legacy. And since then, Woody Allen has done something that a lot of directors wouldn’t: he’s done other things besides make other versions of his signature hit.
And in many ways Melinda & Melinda is a companion piece to his immortal classic about a man and a woman’s relationship. Whereas Annie Hall begs the dilemma of how love can go wrong, Melinda & Melinda gives us a similar scenario about the nature of romance and its’ role in life. Is the end of romance comedy or tragedy?
For the comedy it’s a tale of Hobie (Will Ferrell) and Susan (Amanda Peet). Susan is an ambitious Indy film-maker while her husband is an under-employed actor. When a woman moves in downstairs, the pressure on Hobie and Susan’s marriage turns into comedic wackiness fairly quickly, culminating in some of Ferrell’s best comedic moments of 2005.
The tragic side has Laurel (Chloë Sevigny) and Lee (Jonny Lee Miller). Laurel is a Park Avenue princess to her actor beau Lee, and one day Laurel’s long lost friend shows up at her door. Needing a place to stay, it’s a fairly typical tragic romance but one that’s shockingly well-written.
Radha Mitchell plays Melinda, the mystery woman who enters both situations. It’s a pretty interesting performance, as she has to be able to have great comedic timing for one story and dramatic chops for the other. It’s a well-rounded performance for two very different stories meshed into one storyline.
The beauty of the movie is that Allen meshes both of these stories into one narrative that maintains the pace of both stories effectively. In a movie like this, trying to blend in two very similar stories and maintains the pace and consistency of the movie is difficult; Allen knows this and crafts it magnificently. On their own, each side of this movie could hold up if crafted individually, and crafted together they make an amazing movie. Allen has assembled a top notch cast on both sides and has crafted his movie to maximize their talents.
Melinda & Melinda is a worthy addition to the Allen film collection. While perhaps not his strongest work, Allen knows he has crafted his gift to the world in Annie Hall and doesn’t want to top it. He just wants to make more good movies.
Score : 9 / 10
The Video
Presented in both 1.33:1 Full Screen and 2.35:1 Widescreen formats, the one thing about Woody Allen movies is that they never push the envelope in terms of looks. This film has a pretty sloppy transfer, as it looks occasionally grainy and doesn’t have a strong color base to build upon.
The Audio
Presented in Dolby surround, the key feature in an Allen film is how good it sounds; Melinda & Melinda has a decent audio track that manages to fulfill the basic requirement of strong audio and that’s about it. It sounds good, but not great.
The Extras None.
Score : 0 / 10
