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: 

Review of the Reviews

The Spectacular Now (2013)

Even with nothing to do on a Saturday night, spending $3.99 to watch a film On Demand felt pretty steep considering I could not even get myself to finish the book that it was based on. The Spectacular Now, directed by James Ponsoldt, still hooked me into watching it for the sole fact that I was curious as to how the story, that I had started reading, ended. It also helped that the two main actors, Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller, would soon be starring in the anticipated box office hit Divergent and I wanted to see their acting skills.

While the average Rotten Tomatoes audience member would give The Spectacular Now a 77%, which I would consider reasonable, most credible critics on the "Tomatometer" give the film a 93%. Similar popularity stands among critics on Metacritic, who give the film an 82/100 on average.

Film critic Stephanie Merry, for The Washington Post, took a liking to the film and reviewed it as such. After introducing the director and the genre of the film, Merry takes the time to give a lengthy summary of the story that is The Spectacular Now. Intertwined into the summary are positive nods to the story line and the actor's work. Woodley's portrayal of her awkward character Aimee was not just well done to Merry, but "both sweetly familiar and refreshing in its naturalism, as if the film has unlocked an emotional time capsule". The same appreciation goes for Teller and his work as Sutter, a more "charismatic and quick-witted" character. Of course the writers and book adapters of the film, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, received praise as well for how they kept "the focus only on events that strain or bolster this rookie relationship". This focus on the stars and directors takes away a chance to really discuss the issues in the story, leaving the readers with nothing else to think about but the typical theme elements of a coming-of-age film, like "raw excitement" and a "revisiting [of] reality". All of this praise keeps a light and positive tone, much opposite to a review from someone who did not like the film.

Taking a much different approach to the reviewing of The Spectacular Now, Kyle Smith for The New York Post keeps it short and simple when describing his distaste for the film. The critic opens with a joke of sorts saying, "'The Spectacular Now' begins like 'Say Anything' but soon turns into 'Drink Anything'"-alluding to how the main character Sutter drinks a lot and even gets innocent Aimee to drink with him. He continues with a humorous but detailed summary of the film and how the actors did in their roles. Smith manages to keep his review to a short three paragraphs, ending like how it started-bashing the main character's "alcoholism" and how that is the real lesson in the film. 

As someone who has seen the film, I can relate to Merry's point in how Shailene Woodley portrayed Aimee, because "it’s awkward, but not in the way we’ve come to expect from movies". It is much too often that people take the character of an awkward quiet girl and turn her into the nosey brainiac the no one wants to be around. Woodley did Aimee justice and it is nice to see that other people agree. Merry also pointed out the movie's "quiet moments and easy pace", which I took notice to and liked as well. With Smith's approach, although he did take it a bit too far, his attention on the fact that Sutter was "the last person in the movie theater to figure out that he needs to quit boozing" shows an important part of the story and Sutter's life. Most coming-of-age stories do not have that aspect and it seems like he always had a drink in his hand. 

Thinking back to before I saw the film, it would be easy to have gravitated toward the bad review. Unrelated to the fact that the book already left a bad taste in my mouth, Smith's negative review is short and to the point (just not so sweet). His use of humor and relaxed vocabulary makes it feel like less of an official review and more like one of my friends was telling me about the movie. 

If I were to take on a job as a movie critic, I would be sure to include a quick summary of The Spectacular Now that highlighted how the actors had the challenging task of showing their character's growth as time went on and how the film dealt with not just young love, but the partner's lives separately as they dealt with growing up. Unlike either of the reviews previously mentioned, I would mention both the good and the bad of the film. Neither Merry nor Smith mentioned anything that could possibly oppose either of their opinions. Seeing that the film kept my attention until the end, while the book did not, I would justify some bad parts of the film-most of which involve slow scenes or random plot twists-with that they were just working with what they were given. The Spectacular Now is a solid 3.5 in my book and I would fully justify that rating, the good and the bad, in a review.

Intro Survey:

1.What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?

Signs terrified me when I watched it at about 5 years old. I have not tried to re-watch it since.

2. What are 3-4 of your favorite genres? Romantic Comedies, Classics, and Action/Adventure

3.What are your 3-4 LEAST favorite genres?

Horror, Biography, and Foreign

4.What are your five favorite films?
Grease, Back to the Future Trilogy, Breakfast Club, The Holiday, and Father of the Bride

5. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a good film: Well-written script, good/believable actors, and non-predictability

6. What are some of your least favorite movies? Astronaut Farmer, Eat Pray Love, and Pirates of the Caribbean 4

7. List three characteristics of what you consider to be a bad movie: Unoriginality, cheesy-ness, and dull characters

8. Favorite Directors: John Hughes and Steven Spielberg

9. Favorite Actors/Actresses: Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp

10. 3 films that you consider important films for people to see: Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

11. What’s your oldest favorite film? How to Marry a Millionaire or Roman Holiday

12. What’s the best movie you’ve seen that’s been released in the past 2 years? Gravity

13. What are the next five films in your “queue”? The Maze Runner, BlackFish, The Best of Me, Begin Again and Breakfast at Tiffany's