Penn shines in decent mock Woody biopic...

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2005)

Sweet and Lowdown directed by Woody Allen, Starring Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol Woody Allen's biopic about a jazz musician who never really existed named Emmet Ray is a bit different from his usual. The film is not as funny as your typical woody flick, although it makes up for it with some good drama and good acting. The film lacked great plot, but was told in an original style as "mock documentary". I thought Penn's acting was first-rate, definitely one of his better performances although he seldom disappoints me. Samantha Morton was good as well, and it was nice to see Uma Thurman, Gretchen Mol and Anthony LaPaglia in small roles. The film was perfectly casted, very well directed, and Penn's character was very interesting. Only problem I had with this film was that little happened and the ending was not exactly amazing. A solid film worth watching from Woody though. 8/10