Different from usual Woody Allen, well-made, but bland

Rating: 6/10 (30 December 2005)

The movie is apparently written and directed by Woody Allen. It did seem rather different from anything else I've watched of his; somehow it brought the Hitchock Presents short film series to mind in how they seemed to be have been made with Hitchock's advice, but without him being very much involved personally. This could be an explanation, or perhaps WA is exploring new directions - or possibly he did this kind of thing before in a movie that have not seen.
The movie is paced amazingly well - the visuals are not breathtaking, but they are not the important point. The important point is the characters. The acting is great throughout, and although perhaps we see too much of the protagonist altogether, the supporting cast never fails to deliver and come off as truly genuine and complete characters.
The following, why not directly spoilery, will help you guess at some events before their occurrence.
The story is reminiscent of Crime and Punishment in some ways, with the obligatory Dostoyevsky references and heavy opera music. It is extremely easy to follow as everything is relatively subtly hinted before hand. The climax to the actual crime follows a pattern: the protagonist just keeps on going, saying: I decide I want to do A. To do that, I'll have to do X. So he does it. When circumstances change, he never considers maybe doing something other than A instead. A is what he had decided to do, and A is what he will keep on doing.
There is a brief passage in the movie where he discusses whether he wants to continue with A or not - and from this discussion he immediately realises that he is going to continue with A. And when something gets in his way, he will stop at nothing. And thus the crime is committed.
The inexorable progression towards the perpetration of this crime mystifies me completely. The character's actions were simply not believable. This is not a problem with the acting, but with the script. And with a story centered around 'real' characters rathern than space/action heroes, one expects a certain realism for character motivation and plot development. Unfortunately, this was completely lacking in this movie.
So: pacing, acting, music, all excellent. But plot? Abysmal.