So now Jesse Eisenberg is Woody Allen;
well, of course, he isn't actually Woody Allen, just the latest in a
long line of Woody alter-egos and he's the best of them, (the great Owen
Wilson notwithstanding). Not that Woody is letting go completely; it's
Woody who does the narration, (and sounding now like the old man he is),
and if this is an old man's film it's a great one, (though it never
feels like an old man's film). In fact, I can't quite remember when I
last enjoyed a Woody Allen film as much. It feels totally fresh and new
until you realise it's just an updated "Radio Days"; not that that
diminishes it in any way.
The first half takes place in
Hollywood, (Woody finally allows himself to go there but with two
stipulations; he isn't really Woody but Jesse and it is the 1930's, the
time of his beloved Marx Brothers and Fred and Ginger), but Hollywood
doesn't work out so Woody/Jesse heads home to New York and his Jewish
family and his gangster brother. However, while in Hollywood he falls
for Vonnie, his uncle's secretary, (she's having an affair with her
boss), which means the path of true love never runs smooth and
all that....
Vonnie is Kristen Stewart, fast becoming my favourite young actress, and the uncle is Steve Carrell and they are both superb in a superb ensemble that also includes Jeannie Berlin, (you may be shocked to find Elaine May's daughter is now an old lady), Parker Posey, Ken Stott and Blake Lively. The movie itself is a cross between the early funny ones and smarter fare like "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Husbands and Wives", though with none of that movie's acerbity. This is a bitter-sweet affair ending, as Woody's films often do, at year's end and with a closing shot as fine as any in the great man's oeuvre.
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