I love woody Allen...well, let me rephrase that. I love Annie hall. Without movies such as Annie hall and The graduate, i probably would have little to no interest in the genre of romantic comedy. That being said, when i finally watched Manhattan, known by man as Allen's Magnum opus.
On first impression i gotta say, Allen's Cinematography for this movie is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. The way that he shoots new York brings such a beauty to a dirty city. Woody Allen plays a neurotic(Shockingly) TV writer dating a 17 year old that falls in love with his best friends mistress, played by Diane Keaton.
Allen's got the same Witty pessimism that he always does in his great comedies, yet for most of the jokes there is at least a grain of truth .although not as experimental as Annie hall in terms of structure, though it still has that kind of character study, almost voyeuristic kinda plot prominent in Annie hall which I've completely adored. This is definitely one thing this movie does however excel at overall is in musical score. The score fits so beautifully with the gritty, yet dazzling new York city landscape. And i gotta say, I'm ecstatic that Diane Keaton is back in this one. Woody and Diane Keaton have absolutely beautiful chemistry together in both this and Annie hall, and this one definitely feels to have a more romantic edge between the two. Even though i do absolutely adore Alvy Singer, I can't help but love Isaac Davis too, mainly due to them being similar in a fair amount of ways. Allen always seems to have a personal side to his stories and characters that I've always adored, It really helps to know a bit about him personally to really get it, when Keaton's character insults Bergman, YOU CAN TELL HES PISSED. And i gotta say the final scene between Isaac and his friend is both heartbreaking and hilariously witty, and i am so pleased that the film ends on atleast a slightly happy note.
Overall this movie is an absolute must for film fans, and an outstanding woody Allen movie, an absolute must see! from beginning to end, its a thing of beauty, visually, and otherwise.
