Knowing who the writer and director was.....spoiler

Rating: 8/10 (30 May 2006)

I selected this DVD because Emily and Scarlett were in it. I didn't realize until I got it home that it was by Woody Allen. As far as I am concerned his movies are usually weird if not awful. All the characters usually sound like him. I did like Deconstructing Harry and one other of his comedy movies. Anyway, I was surprised at how well the screenplay was. The story certainly gives you plenty to think about. I was literally feeling sick to my stomach when Chris was caught up in all that trouble and the suspense was killing me. I didn't really want him to get away with what he was doing but my instinct felt for him as he was trying to beat the odds and commit the perfect crime. I am glad that I knew it was Woody Allen's story, or I would have been really creeped-out. I think knowing the history of Woody Allen (his personal life that we DO know) and knowing the rest of his works, helps us deal with this distressing movie. First of all it seemed to be a British movie (prob, filmed in NY as I have seen those sets on TV shows, say Sex and the City or whatever) But not typically an American movie. So congrats to Allen being able to do that. And it's shocking to Americans to see a "bad guy" get away with murder. We are used to the bad guy getting caught no matter what; not so in foreign movies which rarely explain anything but leave it to the viewer to decide what is really happening. Congrats to Allen again for that, excellent! I have a feeling that the character Chris was acting out some of Allen's hidden or inner rage when acting on his driven-ness so to speak and blowing his lover (and his own unborn baby) away with a shotgun. I am assuming that Allen has felt like doing that on occasion given his history with women and children. Any other director and I wouldn't have understood it as well. Anyway, the story was also a comment on the typical wishy-washy Englishmen who are so stuck in societal demands that they have to play along and deny their real selves. An American would never do that. (A crazy American would only kill someone like that as a result of psychosis not as a thought-out solution, at least in movies.) This guy killed Nola for the sake of sticking to the British upper class traditions, she was a fly in the ointment and had to be gotten rid of, of course, like any other unpleasantness wealthy people deal with. Not only did he sell his soul for money and to continue with his upper class lifestyle, he saw it as the only "right thing" to do. Also, it was interesting that his habit of hitting the tennis ball right on the net so it falls back to you--making your LOSE, this time having the ring fall onto the ground instead of into the river--helped him WIN (or get away with murder--unless you see it that he lost again in having to live with his sins.) I can see a character such as he portrayed going right on with life, telling himself "OH WELL, water under the bridge", he did say collateral damage and he would force himself to believe that for the sake of his own sanity. And he would not look back or regret it after awhile of justifying it. Maybe he'd become a bit of a drunk on weekends and holidays but expected to do so and tolerated. He would continue participating in the typical stuffy English lifestyle as if there was nothing else he could do. His wife was obviously in charge of his life by then and he would just go along with it. I also thought, like some comments I read, that he could go on with this lifestyle and having blonds on the side would be perfectly acceptable later on down the line.