If people think there is a “typical” Woody Allen film it’s evidence that the director  has been repeating himself or refusing to venture beyond familiar environs.

By D. W. O'Dell

 One of the most frequently made comments about Woody Allen’s recently released film, Match Point, is that it isn’t a “typical Woody Allen film.” By this it is meant that it takes place in London, not Manhattan, and that it emphasizes non-humorous themes about fate and society.

But the fact that people think there is a “typical” Woody Allen film is evidence that the director has of late been lazy and has been either repeating himself or refusing to venture beyond familiar environs. A quick examination of Woody Allen’s early filmography shows that he is as diverse a director as there is.

He of course began directing with a modest effort, Take the Money and Run, which was shot in the style of what is now called a “mockumentary,” that is, a mock documentary (at the time this was innovative, but since the successful This Is Spinal Tap the genre has been run into the ground). His early efforts, referred to obliquely in Stardust Memories as his “early, funny” movies, emphasized humor over artistic merit. Still, these early films include Sleeper, which is not only one of Woody Allen’s funniest films but also a relatively good science fiction film.

Allen’s transition to an “artistic” filmmaker began with Love and Death, an effective parody of the Russian novel. The film looks marvelous, especially the battle scenes featuring sheep in lieu of soldiers. The movie is, of course, set in Russia, not New York, and demonstrates an assuredness behind the camera not present in his “early, funny” movies.

Woody Allen’s association with New York City was cemented by his next films, the classic, Annie Hall, and the nearly as good, Manhattan (with the straight drama, Interiors, in between). Both films transcend any attempt at placing them firmly within a “genre.”

Allen next attempted to emulate Fellini with Stardust Memories, which was not entirely successful but was visually distinctive and contained a harrowing performance by Charlotte Rampling. This was followed by the Bergman-esque Midsummer’s Night Sex Comedy and the technically innovative Zelig.

At this point Allen really does start re-cycling his New York locations in a series of good, yet relatively minor, comedies (Broadway Danny Rose, Purple Rose of Cairo, Radio Days, etc.). This also coincides with his “Mia Farrow” period. He does produce one more great film, Crimes and Misdemeanors, that remains a distinctive accomplishment nearly on a par with Manhattan and Annie Hall. He also attempts to emulate German Expressionism with Shadows and Fog, one of the worst films ever made by a great director.

I think Allen returned to form when he tried his hand at yet another genre, the murder mystery, with Manhattan Murder Mystery (which also marked his reuniting cinematically with Diane Keaton). I had trepidations going in to see the film, not expecting it to contain an actual murder mystery, well plotted and ingeniously resolved. I was disappointed the film wasn’t nominated for an Edgar Award for best mystery movie of the year.

Since then Allen’s film career has been up and down, mainly down. I am in the minority in disliking Deconstructing Harry, which I thought was an excuse for him to write about an author with writer’s block. But I am not alone in dismissing Celebrity, Mighty Aphrodite and Curse of the Jade Scorpion as piffle, possibly amusing but hardly worthy of an artiste of Allen’s stature.

Before Allen started running on empty he had explored a variety of genres and cinematic formats; science fiction, mystery, Russian literature, and drama were all attempted by him at some point. For years I have dreaded the release of the next Woody Allen film, as Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending and Anything Else eroded his legacy. But every review of Match Point indicates that it is a true renaissance, a rebirth of the great director who once was Woody Allen. At 70 years old maybe there’s a few more good films left in the old boy.