The best Woody Allen film in 10 years

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2003)

Sweet and Lowdown is the story of a musician who through two broken relationships, one with a mute woman the other with a his adulteress authoress wife is able to access true creativity and self-expression. This of course makes it sound like the most dreary, awful Eastern-European psychodrama. Or worse a return to the housebound Woody of Interiors and September, particularly when one sees that Allen does not act in the film. But have no fear. This is far and away the best, and funniest, Woody Allen film of the last 10 years. Allen's biggest obsession, bigger even than sex, or illness, has always been how the artist can sustain normal human relations. That theme is here more explicit than in any other of his films. Although there are romantic and comic elements this is very much a film about how the artist finds himself.In the fictional 1920's jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (Sean Penn, excellent) he has created a fellow neurotic jazz freak with an added self-destructive streak. The director is often accused of presenting on film a fantasy version of himself; more feral and self confident. Here he goes overboard, portraying a selfish, insecure, angry, kleptomaniac, alcoholic, shopaholic, near -genius. The insolently talented musician at the heart of the film is surely a wish-fulfilment for Woody who has been slugging through his Monday night clarinet- playing gig at Michaels Pub NYC since 1971. The wannabe stud of his early stand -up performances and the worshipper of Sidney Bechet are fused together in the scene in which Penn wins over the mute girl Hattie (Samantha Morton) with a, for him, perfunctory version of `I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles'. Penn/Ray communicates the feeling of homage in so much of Allen's work. For his iconic attitude toward the partially disabled French guitarist Django Reinhardt we can read Allen's own constant nods to Bergman and Fellini. Artistic insecurity is a theme that runs through the film, Every time Penn's declares himself, in his stabbing, bratish voice, to be `The best guitarist in the world...except maybe for this gypsy in France' we hear a little more desperation enter his soul. The suffering, rejection, and pain he suffers are gradually revealed to be the doors rather than blocks to artistic expression. He is told repeatedly that if he were only able to access his emotions he would play better. This is finally brought about by the departure of his wife.Uma Thurman, barely recognizable in period costume, plays the part and she is the kind of glamourous, self-referencing, pretentious artist/intellectuall obligatory in all Allen's work. Her shallowness is contrasted by the feeling she inadvertently brings about in her ex-husbands playing. Pain leading to creativity ? Strained relationships with weird women? Locking yourself in a room for three days to listen to jazz? This of course sounds very much like our idea of the post-Mia, Allen social life. Even for a fan the directors constant use of autobiographical themes can become tiresome. But not when supported by the excellent performances, period and genre detail on display here. Real life jazz singer Ben Duncan and legendary jazz critic Nat Hentoff (who I must admit I thought was dead) provide commentary. References are made to such obscure figures as Buck Clayton and Eddie Condon. The soundtrack is to die for (by the way why is it never mentioned how wonderful the music is in EVERY Woody Allen movie). This could push the film off into anal-muso-jazz-hell were it not for two astonoishing central performances. Penn is fast cornering the market manchilds, reliant on but misunderstanding women. Toward the end of the film he finds it worryingly easy to portray an artist brought to his knees by selfishness and addiction. He conveys all the changed perspective of the genuinely emotionally suffering artist with one simple look at his guitar after playing his first original composition. That great antidote to male boorishness, humility, has entered his soul. Morton is, I must admit, a completely new name to me. But she is blessed with one of the most expressive faces I have ever seen on camera. She communicates, her simplicity,her love for Penn, and her eventual disappointment with him only with her smile. It's difficult to imagine exactly where this role will take her but one hopes it will lead on to bigger things than her other near -mute role in Minority Report. Finally, a word about the dialogue. It has been the case for some years now that Allen jokes are best delivered by others. For pure amusement value this is one of Allen's best and it is nice to think that America's most inventive, and distinctive living filmmaker is entering his 70's and still entertaining.