Warm, Loose And Funny

Rating: 10/10 (17 August 2001)

Woody Allen's breakthrough as a filmmaker is a loose, episodic look at a modern relationship and it combines the best of Allen' earlier films with a melancholia that would turn exceedingly dour in his later work. It's aided immeasurably by the winning Diane Keaton in the title role; she's fresh and funny and although the story is not told in a linear fashion, you can see her maturation and self-determination as the film progresses. Much can be made about Allen's vindictive treatment of women (and, in his later films, there's plenty of justification to criticize his views) but it should be noted than Allen skewers plenty of men here, most notably himself; he's always castigated himself in order to elicit your pity but this time there's a self-flagellation that seems hard, unforgiving and realistic. He also manages to make this one of his funniest films: many of the lines (by Allen and Marshall Brickman) are unforgettable. After `Manhattan' Allen's consistency would dry up (he apparently never recovered from `Interiors' and `Stardust Memories') but here his talents are in full bloom.