A virtuoso performance by the greatest actor of our time.

Rating: 8/10 (4 August 2004)

Sweet and Lowdown is the story of a fictional jazz guitarist who is self admittedly the second best in the world(next to that gypsy in France) but there is one thing that is clear while watching this movie, sean penn is second to no one. He is simply the greatest actor of our time and he once again proves it here. As emmett Ray, sean penn invests his very soul and embodies the role of a vain, talented, yet oblivious and cold hearted man who is actually filled with self doubt and remorse. The character is as crude a low life thief and pimp as he is a excellent musician. He is the zany, pathetic artist with a heart of stone. That penn can make you feel for him is no easy task. Penn also did an exceptional job mastering the appearance of playing the guitar for the role. Woody Allen has crafted a gem of a film filled with poignancy and humor. Samantha Morton is incredible as Hattie the mute girl who clearly worships everything about Ray, though Ray doesn't have the ability to notice a good thing when it's standing in front of his self absorbed face. That Ray is both a genius and a fool is clear and it's the emotional core of the film. He's just as at home shooting rats at the train tracks as he is performing drunk for his adoring audience. At the end of the movie there is a series of scenes in which the emotional weight of Rays mistakes seem to finally be understood by him. In one he meets Hattie again on the same boardwalk where they originally met, though she is now happily married and a mother. The false bravado of Rays personality seems to crack momentarily only to be swallowed again by his deluded machismo. The second even more heart wrenching is the final scene at the railroad with Gretchen Mol. Penn in an ill fated attempt to show off his skills for her seems to have all of his regrets, conceits and pain hit him at once. Watching Penn slowly remove the mask of Rays lonely broken heart is a gift, in an acting class of it's own. He is truly the master of American acting. Who won best actor in 2000? Russell Crowe in gladiator? And we wonder why penn doesn't believe in acting awards.