Luckily for us, what might be Woody's swan song is a lean and powerful effort

Rating: 7/10 (13 January 2006)

(Note: I added "may contain spoilers" because I briefly describe how the plot is set up, but I don't discuss it's resolution.)
Even though I'd heard beforehand that this movie was reminiscent of "Crimes and Misdemeanors," it still didn't quite prepare me for all of its twisting plot. Yet it's actually a very simple story. A man falls in love with two women at the same time. The one he's most passionate about he can't have, so he ends up marrying his 2nd choice. It doesn't hurt that his lesser love is part of a very rich family, and that he'll never have to worry about money again for the rest of his life as long as her father sees that his daughter is happy with him. But he can't deny his passions, and starts up an affair with the girl he loves more. The affair takes on a life of it's own until one day it gets serious enough that he is forced to make a choice: give up a life of chauffeurs, mansions and a wife he describes as "sweet," or forsaking his deepest passion forever for a safe and comfortable existence. What he decides is something I won't give away.
This is lean and powerful Allen. There is no amusing nebbish at the core of this one; all the pain and uncertainty that "the Woody character" would usually deflect so deftly with humor is stripped away here, and what's left is a more satisfying display of raw emotion from the two gifted leads, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. Equally as satisfying is that Allen's theme about the roll of luck in our existences ended up being as strong as any of the performances. For good or for bad, you really leave the theater questioning just how lucky you or the characters you've just spent two hours with really are. Maybe the only thing everyone who can appreciate this film can agree on is how fortunate we are that Woody Allen (who turned 70 this past December) can still put together a small masterpiece like this.