Rating of
3/4
Manhattan review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 02/03/12
Isaac Davis (Woody Allen), who was divorced twice and having a child, dates a 17 year old girl named Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). Yale (Michael Murphy), married to Emily (Anne Byrne) and friend of Isaac, is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton). Mary gets close with Isaac thru various walks and conversations. Jill (Meryl Streep) creates a book with references of their lives. The director’s gift of screenplay writing was evident with thought provoking lines from the film: Isaac – “The important thing in life is courage.” Mary - “I guess we met at the wrong time.” Emily – “But then, nothing's perfect.” Score was delightful and the dialogues never seemed forced.
Its direction leaned towards the beauty of the city and the relationships of the characters. Mariel Hemingway was really good. The awkward scene of the three friends sitting together was laughable. Only reservations this critic had were the idea of how the characters tend to act foolishly, at times dull conversations, dating an under aged girl and the usual complexities of Allen’s figure and lack of Streep’s screen time. Despite the depressing situations, the conclusions quote: “Not everybody gets corrupted. You have to have a little faith in people.” brightens it up. Manhattan was intellectually created and less funny than Annie Hall, it does bring out some good points.
