Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I A Allen does it ag By David Baker Entertainm?nt Editor I'm hesitant to call any movie the best movie of the year when the year isn't half over, but I honestly don't think any of the year's upcoming films will come near to topping Woody Allen's Manhattan. Allen has taken the comedy of Annie Hall and the seriousness of Interiors and blended them together to form what will undoubtedly be remembered as the definitive movie of the 1970s. Had it been made in the 1990s, it would have set off a wave of nostalgia reminiscent of the nnp spt off five years ago by American Graffiti. The film opens much the same way as Annie Hall, with an Allen monologue. In Manhattan, the monologue combines views of both the romantic and the repellent aspects of life and love among the intellectual set of New York City. As the words flow so pursuasively into the viewer's ears, his eyes are treated to some of the most glamorous and exciting shots of the Manhattan skyline ever to reach the screen. By the time the all-important background music (George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue") builds to its neardeafening climax, fireworks are seen exploding over Contral Park and it's nhvinns whirh nf uiou/c nf No%u York Allen has chosen to explore more thoroughly. Indeed, love or the disintegration of love is practically the centerpiece of Manhattan's every scene. Whether it's in the scenes dealing with the betrayals of his lesbian exwife, Jill (Mervl Streep), or in the scenes dealing with his affair with 17-year-old Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), Allen's Isaac Davis comes across as a man who is almost terminally consumed by a passion he isn't really sure how to deal with. NOT KNOWING how to handle such emotion makes Isaac seem selfish and sometimes even cruel towards the women in his life, and his bizarre sexual oredicaments are eohopd by his best ffiend, Yale (Michael Murphey), who can't resist ripping off a little on the side even though he is supposedly happily married (to Anne Byrne). The real plot of Manhattan is put in motion when Yale attempts to normalize his life by ending his affair with Ill I A ?r: ^ :':'y St mJ&BSBB&I llB&HlBl jtwMLi^*.".. .Jappllpfl HB QMSi |Hi _ wk J [ i|r|r|. ....... t:^^^B:|..^^^i|^j^j^iite^j||i8|&i^jgtflajf|jij|iiiijttBl^fltti "71 " T1 ain ? 'Manhattan journalist Mary Wilke (Diane Keaton). By pushing Mary and Isaac together, Yale hopes to get off the hook with IVTiirU anH holn Icoir* Allf nf Uio 4-1* ?4 ....... j ui.u nvi(/ iouuv >/ui vi mo cuiv,auii:iit wini 11 ctuy ctl the same time. Isaac's quick affair with Mary is Manhattan's highlight. As always, the interplay of Keaton and Allen is nothing short of masterful, but the strange thing about their relationship in Manhattan is that Keaton's character is not an instantly likable one. In fact, Isaac first sees Mary as being quite obnoxious. When the two first meet, Mary insults everything Isaac holds dear (including Ingmar Bergman). Mary's conceit and condescension are immediate turn-offs for Isaac, just as Isaac's "lack of good taste" are turn-offs for Mary. When their second meeting turns into an all-night talk session, however, Mary and Isaac find themselves immensely attracted to one another, though neither ackriowledaps what i?i Hanrw?nino n - - ? r'l f->- ' THE FIRST DISPLAY of affection from either of the soon-to-be-lovers comes after another long talk (this one at the Hadyn Planetarium), when Isaac tells Mary he wanted to "fling her down on the lunar surface and commit interstellar perversion." Naturally, after an admission like that, the pair are soon rocketing off into love's tender bliss. The bliss doesn't prove to be a lasting one, though, as Yale soon decides he wants to win Mary back. Allen's and Marshall Brickman's script keeps each of the love affairs completely believable at all times, even when no dialogue is used. One marvelous scene features Allen, Keaton, Murphy and Byrne together in a theatre balconv. As the show progresses below them, the looks in each one's eyes tell more about his or her character than dialogue ever could. Allen's use of Gershwin's music in the background and Gordon Willis' stunning black-and-white cinematography also contribute to the movie's strong cohesive structure. The performances of Allen, Murphy, Byrne and Streep grow surprisingly richer with each viewing, but it's Keaton 1 V V - anu rtemingway wno taKe Manhattan's top acting honors. A m Wk y_;': i L' ' \ l:^BB^ij^^y* '^"jv'?''' B? .;'. ;v. WH :rA~^t y] \ < j I ^ SBHK' ,|I ? | - "V,V" 1 'S' ' is year's best Hemingway's statuesque (she's nearly six feet tall) beauty and model-like features make her seem every bit a woman, while her raspy little voice is there to remind everyone that she's still not quite an adult. This attractive combination of incongruities, along with the sweetness and vulnerabilitv sho nrniprts malcps: kaar'c infntn^Hnn I? - j-w.w, v- u iiauvu(ui\/ii ill! Tracy into something special for every person who witnesses it. But, as usual, it's Keaton's blazing presence that makes Manhattan worth seeing more than once. The smile and humor that made her my favorite actress work overtime here, making sure that everyone is able to see that beneath Mary Wilke's shrill exterior lies an interior that's every bit as lovable as Annie Hall's. Keaton's performance in Manhattan should be the one that wins her recognition as ftho finDot O rnc C urA?Lrin/t + HIV Iiuvai uvu voo w v?i rv I lift, lUVldjr . SECOND ONLY TO KEATON in my affections is Sally Field. Enamored as I am, though, even I/udn't expect the petite dynamo to single-handedly save one of Irwin Alien s disastrous disaster movies. Surprisingly enough, however, Field does iust that in Allon'Q RovnnH 0 --- . jvhm % ?v m vnt m\fii rill" venture. As Michael Caine's love interest, a role which most other actresses simply would have been content to walk through, Field gives Nelson Giddings' script a delightful comic slant that practically makes the picture a tongue-in-cheek take off of itself. Caine evidently saw what Field was doing with her role and decided he would treat the movie in a lighter vein as well. By doing so, he comes off almost as good as Field herself. The rest of the cast members (Telly Savalas, Peter Boyle, Shirley Jones and Karl Maiden) are either so ill -J 1 * 1 iidiurem anu evu or so wiae-eyed and weepy that one constantly yearns to see them go down with the ship. Without Field and Caine, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure WOUld surelv h;?vo boon hr?rrf?nH^uc hut writVi consistently entertaining and often involving. It would be interesting to see the duo work together in a film more deserving of their talents. If they can be this good under Irwin Allen, they'd win Oscars under anyone else.