Woody Allen's "Cassandra's Dream" which opened recently at the Ritz East in Center City, Philadelphia is the Oscar-winning director's third film in a row made entirely on location in England. Starting with 2005's "Matchpoint", Allen's change of location from New York City to the streets of modern-day London has been a breath of fresh air for fans of the director. As in "Matchpoint", Allen abandons his neurosis-driven, self-absorbed characters of films past for a more serious tone of tragedy and murder with very little traces of the humor that has often made the filmmaker famous.
Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play two working-class London brothers whose taste for success and the better things in life lead them to commit a crime so terrible that it eventually serves as their undoing.
As Ian, the older and supposedly wiser of the two siblings, McGregor works in his father’s restaurant all the while dreaming of a better life as a businessman in America. Terry (Farrell), is the younger brother, a chronic gambler in dept too deep to loan sharks to see any legitimate way out of his lot in life. So when a successful uncle and businessman named Howard (underplayed with his usual scene-stealing flare by Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson) visits London, the two nephews seek his help financially. But it is Howard who in turn needs the brothers help in making a possible prison term for a bad business deal go away. It seems a witness who intends to testify against Uncle Howard in court will have to disappear for good to ensure the rich uncle’s survival.
With promises of financial independence from Uncle Howard, the two brothers embark on a disastrous journey of a loss of morality and the tragic consequences it brings to them and their family.
This is a tragedy of Greek proportion, but with no chorus along to try to influence the two young men in making their fateful decisions.
As in “Matchpoint”, Allen has changed his whole approach to moviemaking. Gone are the pop songs from the 1930s and ‘40s that usually underscore his films, replaced here with a minimalist score by composer Phillip Glass. Photographed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, Allen shoots the streets of London with a less romantic style as he does in New York. A more realistic look onscreen lends this tragic story the atmosphere it needs. One feels we are eavesdropping on this family and Allen is cautious in letting style tell this story visually.
At the core of this film is the relationship onscreen between brothers Ian and Terry. These are two of the most sympathetic yet serious flawed characters Allen has ever written. You can’t help but feel for these boys no matter how deep they get into things, because no matter how terrible and misguided their actions, they are likable to the core.
The likeability of Ian and Terry has a lot to do with the two actors who portray them. Farrell and McGregor are almost too believable as brothers on film. They share no great resemblance in appearance, yet by the childhood memories they both recall with great fondness one would think that they actually do share a last name. These are two fully realized great performances for both young actors. Farrell has given his career a great boost with his work here, and it will hopefully translate to more revealing film roles for him in the future.
My only criticism here is Allen’s portrayal of women in this film. Unlike his “Annie Hall” and any one of the many characters played by his former onscreen muse, Mia Farrow, the women in this film are almost all portrayed as “eye candy”. Ian and Terry have girlfriends, but both are portrayed here as needy and one dimensional. Only British actress Clare Higgins as the boys mother gives an effective performance past the little Allen has given her in the script.
With that in mind, Woody Allen does deliver a fine tragedy on film, one that draws you in slowly and will stay with you long after you’ve left the theater. A remarkable feat for a filmmaker who spent most of his life on film trying to make us laugh.
Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play two working-class London brothers whose taste for success and the better things in life lead them to commit a crime so terrible that it eventually serves as their undoing.
As Ian, the older and supposedly wiser of the two siblings, McGregor works in his father’s restaurant all the while dreaming of a better life as a businessman in America. Terry (Farrell), is the younger brother, a chronic gambler in dept too deep to loan sharks to see any legitimate way out of his lot in life. So when a successful uncle and businessman named Howard (underplayed with his usual scene-stealing flare by Oscar-nominated actor Tom Wilkinson) visits London, the two nephews seek his help financially. But it is Howard who in turn needs the brothers help in making a possible prison term for a bad business deal go away. It seems a witness who intends to testify against Uncle Howard in court will have to disappear for good to ensure the rich uncle’s survival.
With promises of financial independence from Uncle Howard, the two brothers embark on a disastrous journey of a loss of morality and the tragic consequences it brings to them and their family.
This is a tragedy of Greek proportion, but with no chorus along to try to influence the two young men in making their fateful decisions.
As in “Matchpoint”, Allen has changed his whole approach to moviemaking. Gone are the pop songs from the 1930s and ‘40s that usually underscore his films, replaced here with a minimalist score by composer Phillip Glass. Photographed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, Allen shoots the streets of London with a less romantic style as he does in New York. A more realistic look onscreen lends this tragic story the atmosphere it needs. One feels we are eavesdropping on this family and Allen is cautious in letting style tell this story visually.
At the core of this film is the relationship onscreen between brothers Ian and Terry. These are two of the most sympathetic yet serious flawed characters Allen has ever written. You can’t help but feel for these boys no matter how deep they get into things, because no matter how terrible and misguided their actions, they are likable to the core.
The likeability of Ian and Terry has a lot to do with the two actors who portray them. Farrell and McGregor are almost too believable as brothers on film. They share no great resemblance in appearance, yet by the childhood memories they both recall with great fondness one would think that they actually do share a last name. These are two fully realized great performances for both young actors. Farrell has given his career a great boost with his work here, and it will hopefully translate to more revealing film roles for him in the future.
My only criticism here is Allen’s portrayal of women in this film. Unlike his “Annie Hall” and any one of the many characters played by his former onscreen muse, Mia Farrow, the women in this film are almost all portrayed as “eye candy”. Ian and Terry have girlfriends, but both are portrayed here as needy and one dimensional. Only British actress Clare Higgins as the boys mother gives an effective performance past the little Allen has given her in the script.
With that in mind, Woody Allen does deliver a fine tragedy on film, one that draws you in slowly and will stay with you long after you’ve left the theater. A remarkable feat for a filmmaker who spent most of his life on film trying to make us laugh.
