Intriguing Character Study, Great Music

Rating: 8/10 (25 June 2000)

Every so often a film comes along where the music alone is worth the ticket. This is such a film. This is an intriguing character study about a fictional jazz guitarist in the 1930's named Emmet Ray (Sean Penn). Woody Allen, who wrote and directed the film, cleverly uses an autobiographical documentary format, and anyone who is unfamiliar with jazz or didn't know in advance, might easily believe this was a true story. That is a testimonial to Allen's skills, because despite the fact that Ray was a rogue and a degenerate, the whole story seemed extremely believable.
Ray was renowned as the second greatest jazz guitarist in the world, behind a European gypsy named Django Reinhardt. Ray had a deep seated insecurity about being number two, and both times he saw Reinhardt play, he passed out. We follow his meandering life as a musician, pimp and carouser with occasional side trips to watch trains and shoot rats. Unlike most of Allen's films, this one wasn't peppered with stiletto humor and irony. There were some funny bits, but this was mostly a serious character study. Although Ray wasn't an endearing character, he certainly was a fascinating one. That along with the fabulous music made this film work nicely.
I also enjoyed the way Allen shot this film. He gave it a nice old look. The indoor scenes were shot with an amber filter and the entire film had a very soft focus to it. There were lots of good period props and costumes that brought the thirties alive.
I'm not normally a big fan of Sean Penn, but he did a terrific job in the lead role. Penn is not a versatile actor, but he is excellent in certain types of roles. He is adroit at roles that involve gritty, visceral characters with raw and crude emotions. In this regard, he was perfectly cast for this part. The only minor criticism I had was that his guitar fingering was not particularly realistic. Otherwise it was masterful work. His Oscar nomination was well deserved.
This is the second film this month where I've had a chance to see Samantha Morton. I enjoyed her work in Dreaming of Joseph Lees' and again here as Hattie. Since Hattie is a mute, Morton didn't have a single line, but she had a pivotal role and a lot of screen time. Morton had to do all her acting with her facial expressions and body language and she was fantastic. I have seen numerous actors who have conveyed less with twenty minutes of dialogue than she did with a single look. She has a very wholesome and amiable quality about her, very genuine and sincere. She seems to be a very promising young talent and I am eager to see her next role.
This film is a must see for anyone who loves jazz and the character study ain't bad either. I rate it an 8/10.