Crimes and Misdemeanors

My second favorite movie of 1989 is the ingeniously scripted and structured Crimes and Misdemeanors; a darkly funny, thought-provoking examination on God, integrity, and ethics. Woody’s work here is masterful, as Vincent Canby put it, ”The wonder of ''Crimes and Misdemeanors'' is the facility with which Mr. Allen deals with so many interlocking stories of so many differing tones and voices. The film cuts back and forth between parallel incidents and between present and past with the effortlessness of a hip, contemporary Aesop.”

The story is split into two. The serious half is about a prominent ophthalmologist named Judah (skillfully played by Martin Landau) whose life is about to go to pieces because his mistress is threatening to expose his infidelities (among other transgressions). Judah turns to his gangster brother, who offers to settle the problem... permanently. The second story has the laughs and is about a documentary filmmaker (Woody Allen) who has his artistic integrity called into question when he takes a job filming a piece on an insipid, blowhard TV comedian. This sets up the moral debate. And in the end - the bad have it good, while the good suffer. And God either doesn't care or is nonexistent.

The final monologue sums up the themes in a nutshell. Beyond the question of God and morality, there’s the question of choice, of humankind's search to find meaning and love and identity, etc. Perhaps we are all deluding ourselves one way or the other, but it’s how we cope, how we live with our foibles and get through each day.

The character development in this film is particularly rich and the ideas absorbing.

Back to 1989

The Usual Suspects

The gimmicky The Usual Suspects is a fiendish maze of a crime story that is jaw-dropping on first viewing - and reveals several subtle shades, especially in regards to Kevin Spacey's performance, on a second going over. It's a clever collaboration between the ensemble cast, the visually arresting direction by Bryan Singer and a nimble script from Christopher McQuarrie. Tying it all together is the unsung hero of the feature, editor John Ottman. It was up to him to piece this complex and devilishly clever puzzle together and make sense of it all. Yeah it's pure trickery and not everyone enjoys the ride, but I do. I think it's a blast trying to figure out what's what -- what's true and what isn't.

Note: I believe most of it was true, just heavily embellished. I think Soze/Verbal -and the filmmakers- got a kick out of pulling a "Rashomon" on us all. I could be wrong, but for me, half the fun is in weighing the facts as presented and deciding upon their veracity for yourself. Even then, much of it remains perplexing, as perplexing as 1945/46s The Big Sleep. And as with Bogart & Bacall's Noir classic - sometimes it's enough to simply allow yourself to get swept away and give in to a films irresistible charms - its dialog, tone, performance- even if it does stretch logic.

* Back to 1995