After spending much of the 80's making films of a much darker tone (even when it was a comedy), Woody returns to fine, goofy form with "Manhattan Murder Mystery". Despite involving the grisly subject of murder; it's a funny, silly story and very casual for Woody's standards. Gleefully reuniting with the unflappable Diane Keaton, his ex-girlfriend and the co-star of many of his 70's masterpieces, Woody and Diane play Larry & Carol Lipton, a slightly neurotic, married couple living in Manhattan (surprise!). One evening, Larry & Carol have coffee and cake with the elderly couple next door, Paul & Lillian House. The following evening, Carol & Larry learn that Lillian has died of a heart attack. Days later, the casual demeanor of their new widower neighbor arises suspicions in Carol. She soon proposes that Paul murdered his wife, but Larry dismisses such a crazy idea and thinks they should mind their own business anyway. Carol bends the ear of her friend Ted (Alan Alda), to toss around scenarios as to how and why her neighbor killed his wife. Ted is happy to participate; he has a deep but respectable crush on Carol. When Carol's conniving & snooping sways the opinion of Larry, aided by his jealously of her budding friendship with Ted, he reluctantly joins in on "the case".
Larry, a book editor, shares his wife's adventures with Marcia Fox, a sexy client/writer of his (played with long-legged confidence by Anjelica Huston), who wants to do much more with Larry than just have him edit her book! Marcia is soon involved in the conspiracy theory, and brandishes even more impressive ideas as to how Paul House may have ended and disposed of his wife - much to the dismay of Carol, who is intimidated by her sexy presence and sharp mind. Carol, Larry, Ted, and Marcia soon find themselves constructing a scheme to trick Paul into admitting he murdered his wife, even though they're not completely sure he did. What's makes this film so enjoyable is that it's a very slight return to slapstick for Allen. Woody is hilarious sitting on a sofa entangling himself in miles of cassette tape while the others try to create a mock telephone conversation with Paul using tape recorders. Carlo Di Palma's jerky cinematography and Susan Morse's twitchy editing combine to create a rickety, but intimate look. Woody's predictable reliance on old jazz standards works well (although it doesn't in a few of his other films).
The funniest thing about this film is its structural resemblances to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window". The premise of both films regard a couple investigating the possibility that a neighbor murdered their spouse. The two main characters in "Rear Window", L.B. Jeffries and Lisa Freemont, are mirrored by the characters of Carol and Marcia, respectively. Carol is the imaginative idealist who demands that her morbid theories come true, and Marcia is the cool beauty who seems to have solved the puzzle once presented with all the clues. It's also interesting that Woody chose to reunite with Keaton for this film. The basic plot of "Manhattan Murder Mystery" was originally constructed for what eventually evolved into "Annie Hall", Allen & Keaton's most famous collaboration (the murder mystery story was dropped when the love story sub-plot developed). This is a giddy, impromptu Woody film, but it's just as sophisticated as everything else he's done.
Larry, a book editor, shares his wife's adventures with Marcia Fox, a sexy client/writer of his (played with long-legged confidence by Anjelica Huston), who wants to do much more with Larry than just have him edit her book! Marcia is soon involved in the conspiracy theory, and brandishes even more impressive ideas as to how Paul House may have ended and disposed of his wife - much to the dismay of Carol, who is intimidated by her sexy presence and sharp mind. Carol, Larry, Ted, and Marcia soon find themselves constructing a scheme to trick Paul into admitting he murdered his wife, even though they're not completely sure he did. What's makes this film so enjoyable is that it's a very slight return to slapstick for Allen. Woody is hilarious sitting on a sofa entangling himself in miles of cassette tape while the others try to create a mock telephone conversation with Paul using tape recorders. Carlo Di Palma's jerky cinematography and Susan Morse's twitchy editing combine to create a rickety, but intimate look. Woody's predictable reliance on old jazz standards works well (although it doesn't in a few of his other films).
The funniest thing about this film is its structural resemblances to Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window". The premise of both films regard a couple investigating the possibility that a neighbor murdered their spouse. The two main characters in "Rear Window", L.B. Jeffries and Lisa Freemont, are mirrored by the characters of Carol and Marcia, respectively. Carol is the imaginative idealist who demands that her morbid theories come true, and Marcia is the cool beauty who seems to have solved the puzzle once presented with all the clues. It's also interesting that Woody chose to reunite with Keaton for this film. The basic plot of "Manhattan Murder Mystery" was originally constructed for what eventually evolved into "Annie Hall", Allen & Keaton's most famous collaboration (the murder mystery story was dropped when the love story sub-plot developed). This is a giddy, impromptu Woody film, but it's just as sophisticated as everything else he's done.