Allens Second Nietzschean Success Story

Rating: 4/10 (12 February 2006)

There are both explicit and implicit references to 'Crime and Punishment', as well as the naturalistic Strindberg in this movie. It also packs the same moral as Allens own 'Crimes and Misdemeanours'. Allen seems to think that the story of how someone can get away with murder is an important one to tell. Why? Hitler and Stalin "got away" with the murder of millions and millions, its hardly news is it?
Essentially the movie paints the picture of a working class sociopath who climbs the social ladder in ways he sees fit, and who wont stop at murder to get what he wants. Allen makes no distinction between "being guilty" and "getting caught", there is little social commentary and not much in the way of serious reflections on class dynamics. So the film becomes a Nietzschean success story of nihilist overcoming of societies boundaries. Fourtunately the story is not that compelling or believable, though the films entertainment value is above average. The dialog is sometimes pretty corny, but it is well acted.
That Allen finds this theme important, this is his second film with an in parts identical theme, probably tells us more about his petite bourgeoisie world view and narcissistic tendencies, than anything else. No doubt Allen is both scared of and titillated by the thought of self-centered nihilistic action as a route to self-gratification.