Allen Directing Penn? Hm!

Rating: 8/10 (9 April 2007)

Sean Penn delivers one of his finest performances here as Emmett Ray, who was, or is at least portrayed as, the epitome of the self-centered artist. His art, in this case the guitar, is the one thing the cares about before anything or anyone else. He preserves himself because of the art he lives for. The women who are unfortunate enough to be taken by him are objectified, as he makes it ungracefully and perfectly clear to them that it's their responsibility to change, move, and provide help for him and not at all the other way around. He has a much-talked-about but never-admitted feeling of inferiority to another guitarist, who is quite famous and known as the greatest guitar player in the world, whom Ray fainted in front of both times he saw him perform. The motif of the film is how he absolutely never lets any of his feelings go expressed, keeping them all sealed tightly inside of him, for if he let himself care about anybody else, there goes the thoroughly focused passion that drives his art. The outstanding element of Penn's wonderfully intriguing performance is how he expresses unexpressed emotions and keeps a sympathy and lack of judgment consist in the audience towards such a brutally selfish person.
I was not at all interested in the subject matter of this film before I saw it. I only wanted to see it because I am going through a big Woody Allen phase. Woody Allen, one of the finest writers and filmmakers in the world, has a way of writing and directing dialogue so that no matter what off-the-wall one-liner is delivered, everyone sounds so real that you naturally grow to care for them and become very involved and interested in what will happen to them. We care about what horrible thing one character does to another, yet we care about both of them.
One of the film's highlights is Samantha Morton, who some time ago stood out in The Libertine, perhaps further out that even Johnny Depp did. She plays a mute girl that loves Emmett Ray unconditionally, and her performance is full of bright-eyed, nearly tearjerking selflessness.
Uma Thurman, as always alluring, and Anthony LaPaglia, playing the sort of role one could immediately see him in in reality, arouse anger for us, mostly for the inexplicable care we have for Penn. Sweet and Lowdown is a quick and entertaining detour by a filmmaker who constantly impresses me.