Couldn't Turn Away

Rating: 6/10 (17 May 2006)

This is neither a recommendation nor a warning. It takes a lot of internal debate before you can decide whether you liked the film or not. The film goes like this: Nothing much happens, nothing much happens, nothing much happens, nothing much happens, something quickly happens, and then it is over. Yet during the nothing much happens period, you cannot look away. The film holds you. Don't know why. If there is any building sense of dread that something bad is going to happen, the characters don't show it. They are one steady bunch. You just assume something is going to happen because a) this is a movie; and b) the constant references to opera and constant use of opera music make you think there is going to be some sort of Greek tragedy event. So you wait and wait and wait.
When the event does finally happen, it too is a headscratcher, i.e., you ask yourself if that character would really do that. And then you have to grapple with what happens to that character in the aftermath. It offends moral sense--but do you still like the movie? Don't know. Good luck working on that.
For persons knowledgeable about opera, there may be more layers of this film to enjoy. Don't know. For lovers of Woody Allen films, you may wonder if you rented the right movie. Nothing typically Woody Allen here.