Stilted dialog, contrived plot

Rating: 6/10 (14 January 2006)

How can this movie have gotten so much praise? British reviewers have not been especially kind, but on this side of the Atlantic the compliments have been tossed around quite recklessly. It is always fun to watch Scarlett Johansonn, but there is not a lot of other entertainment offered in this very long movie. The opening is handled well enough and the first hour of the film passes without causing undue pain. But then: oh my heavens. Characters drift in and out of character, and the plot becomes one contrivance built on another on another. By the time the end rolls round, one has been checking one's watch every 5 minutes for what seems like hours. Woody Allen may still have some movies in him; I just hope that he keeps them, if the rest are as sorry as this.