Manhattan

Woody Allen

I really liked this when it came out but after watching it now, 25 years later,  I wonder if I had been blinded by the magic that was Annie Hall. This time I found Allen's endless kvetching insufferable. Who could possibly like this guy? Whiny, self-absorbed, seemingly indifferent to the needs of the people around him he wasn't even an anti-hero, he was just a mess.

His behavior toward Tracy, his 17 yo 'girlfriend' was painful to watch. All his other relationships were train wrecks. Some of his lines were funny in that tossed-off self-deprecating way he has but the final scene, where he's gently told by Tracy that he should grow up a bit was less poignant or insightful than pointing out the obvious. It was also obvious that this character couldn't possibly do it either.

Nice cine (Gordon Willis) and use of music.

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