MYST #1: Manhattan

Manhattan (1979)

A couple weeks ago after one of the first few days of film studies, having heard about great movies in class and realizing I had not seen much, I spend a good half an hour looking up movies to add to my Netflix List. I searched things like "best movies to see on Netflix" and  "movies to see before they are off Netflix".  I acquired a long list and have been checking off a few every weekend since. Last weekend, in the mood for a romantic comedy, I sat down to watch Woody Allen's Manhattan. 

I had heard a full spectrum of things about Allen's work and life prior to watching Manhattan. The allegations against him personally would have steered me away from any of his films if I had not heard such great things about them. Rotten Tomatoes put many of his films on a list of best romantic comedies (with Manhattan at #7). It helped that the casting of this particular film included two of my favorites, Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton. Julie & Julia and Because I Said So are some of my favorites. The guy from Princess Bride, Wallace Shawn, as Jeremiah was a surprising extra treat. Having not seen any of them in films from this early in their careers, their presence drew me into the film. 

The film opens to a voice over of Woody Allen, as his character Isaac Davis, as he begins to write a book. The screen shows various scenes of New York City. The voice over sets us up for the comedy of the rest film, while the combination of the scenery and background music leaves the city romanticized, grand, and full of possibilities. The movies goes on to reveal Isaac's complicated relationship with a 17-year-old high school student, Tracy, (which does not really help the whole Allen allegation thing) and his married friend, Yale's, affair. These two relationships grow more twisted together, as Isaac quits his job to focus more on his job and he gets to know the woman whom Yale has thought of leaving his wife for, Mary. To top it off his ex-wife, Jill, has written a book detailing what was wrong with their relationship and how it resulted in her becoming a lesbian. Isaac does not always take other people's feelings into consideration when he says things, but he still manages to come off as funny instead of mean a good amount of the time.

We get to know more about the characters in the minutes leading up to and including the classic under the bridge scene. It's late at night, but Isaac and Mary keep a light air to a conversation that some might consider deep and personal. It was from this point on that I was rooting for the two to fall in love, until of course Mary and Yale had to ruin everything-again. Whether or not that is the case for everyone, this scene is important in helping us understand a lot of what has happened and what will happen. 

This film had camera work that for the first I found myself paying attention to. The bridge scene is now my desktop background as I find it beautiful. Although not exactly part of the shots, the choice of putting the film in black & white gave it a new aura that kept everything calm, for me anyway, romantic and more creative. The use of longer shots and silhouettes again made it feel like more than a romantic comedy (more creative) and gave life to film. 

This romantic comedy turned acute drama had an interesting storyline that makes me curious as to how it compares to Woody Allen's other films. The acting was on point in my book and Isaac's lines held a comedic quality that I did not realize I was missing from other films until watching this one. I am glad this movie made its way onto my Netflix List. Seeing that the ending was not how I would have pictured it, I give Manhattan a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Check it out for yourself: