Interesting story about the life of theatre actresses. Its presented like an actual theatre play, which is prominent in older films anyway, but this can make the film go a lot slower than it actually needs to be. The writing is very good, a tad dated and tends to draw out a bit, but good nonetheless.
I especially enjoyed Anne Baxter's performance as Eve Harrington, as she gradually becomes more and more manipulative as her career takes off. However, even at the beginning of the film as she acts out as an adoring fan of an established but ageing theatre actress Margo Cunning, Eve's fanatical devotion to her put me on edge, especially the sweet, innocent, naive look Baxter's performance embodies, and later discards for a more husky-voiced, seductive manipulator in order to snatch Margo's parts away.
One little point that slightly agitated me and almost gave away the entire plot was the constant praise for Eve. The amount of times I heard "I like that girl!" or "Let me tell ya somethin' about Eve"... everyone was almost too nice to her and she was sickeningly modest about everything. Eve was bordering very close to the "Mary Sue" character, but it still made for a good character.
Rating: 6/10
Annie Hall:
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this film. I enjoyed it, but wasn't drawn into the story as much as I probably should have been. I didn't feel much compassion or understanding towards Alvy or Annie, but I was intrigued by their on/off relationship. Its definitely not the typical romantic-comedy, and because of this, its a classic in its own right.
I loved how every so often Alvy broke the fourth wall and how he and Annie and any other main characters spoke to complete strangers about their life or what was happening in the plot. Its a very good device to use, but was the only thing that helped me pay attention and know what the characters were feeling.
This film absolutely screams 70's. The fashions, the prominent issue of drugs, some of the lines... if nothing else, this film could definitely be nostalgic for anyone who grew up in the 70's. The dialogue in this film relies heavily on improvisation, it doesn't seem scripted at all, which adds to it realism.
I thought Woody Allen wanted very much for the audience to relate to the character he plays and the story of his relationship. Though I didn't relate, I still found the film entertaining, albeit in a weird, experimental way.
Rating: 7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment