Cassandra's Dream

I'm as big a fan of Woody Allen as anyone, but I admit his production over the past ten to fifteen years has been lukewarm at best. I think his last decent comedy was Deconstructing Harry, but it's been overshadowed by the very lame efforts like Scoop, Small-time Crooks, and Hollywood Ending. I did think his drama, Match Point, was a solid effort. He is back with another drama, also shot in England, that rehashes many of the same themes, which were also gone over in much better style in Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Allen clearly is fascinated the emotion of guilt. In Crimes and Match Point his protagonists are men who get away with murder and feel no guilt about it. In Cassandra's Dream, he takes this protagonist and splits him in twain, giving us brothers, one of who does not feel guilt, the other who is consumed by it. It's an interesting examination of human frailty, and I enjoyed this film's first half, but by the end Allen has had his characters talk this out ad nauseum and my enjoyment in the film deflated like a punctured balloon.

Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell are brothers. MacGregor is ambitious, he works in his father's restaurant but hopes to invest in hotels. He falls in love with a beautiful young actress and is planning on moving to California. Farrell is a garage mechanic with a sweet girlfriend and a gambling problem. He's kind of puppyish, completely incapable of controlling his temptations, and ends up losing a substantial amount of money in a poker game. However, the boys have a rich uncle Howard, well-played by Tom Wilkinson. He'd be happy to help them out, but would like a favor in return. Seems there's someone from Uncle Howard's company who could put him in jail with testimony. Howard would like the boys to "get rid" of him.

McGregor and Farrell, no criminals, then plot the assassination. Farrell is very much against it, citing that is crossing a line and breaking God's law, but McGregor has visions of success dancing in his head and urges his brother to go through with it. There are, of course, complications, and Farrell becomes consumed by guilt. An inevitable conclusion aboard their boat, called Cassandra's Dream (they should have studied Greek mythology before naming a boat that) results.

This is Allen's third picture set in London and his first using an all-Brit cast. As some critics have pointed out, I'm not sure he understands the rhythms of British speech. There's something inauthentic about the way his characters talk--London by way of the Upper West Side. The second half of the film is a lot of talk, with Farrell looking hangdog and McGregor trying to buck him up. My companion mentioned that English people aren't so self-analytical as Allen's New Yorkers, and wouldn't talk a subject to death so much.

Also, I found the relationship between McGregor and the actress, played by newcomer Hayley Atwell, kind of pointless. I suppose she represents some kind of status symbol for him, but that doesn't do Atwell much good in trying to play it. Their scenes together are very stiff and unnatural.

I suppose I'll keep going to Woody Allen films as long as he makes them, but it's clear his best work is behind him. His screenplays from the past decade have been thin and not quite completely thought out, making comparisons with a rich film like Hannah and Her Sisters and Manhattan ghastly.