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Manhattan Murder Mystery is a smart and very engaging comedy that, like a lot of Woody Allen's comedies, seamlessly weaves together two very different kind of stories, thanks to one of Woody's richest screenplays. The film is also bookmarked in history as the first film Woody Allen and Diane Keaton made together in over a decade.
Allen originally wrote the film for himself and Mia Farrow, but then the whole Soon-Yi controversy blew up and Farrow chose not to work with Allen anymore, paving the way for Allen's reunion with his best leading lady, Diane Keaton.
The primary story here revolves around Larry and Carol Lipton (Allen, Keaton), an upwardly mobile New York couple who have just sent their son off to college and are each dealing with their empty nest syndrome in different ways. Larry wants to relax but Carol wants to open a restaurant. One night, the Liptons have dinner with an elderly couple who live above them in their building. A few days later, the Liptons are rocked when the wife turns up dead and Carol becomes obsessed with the idea that the woman was murdered by her husband.
The other story is about Larry and Carol's marriage, which is solid, but both are receiving attention from elsewhere. Alan Alda plays Ted, Larry and Carol's divorced friend who has always had feelings for Carol, but has always respected her marriage, but Carol's feelings for Ted become confused when he believes her theory about the woman being murdered and happily agrees to help her prove it. Meanwhile, Larry's frustration with Carol's obsession with this woman's death finds him spending a lot of time with a client of his named Marcia Fox (Anjelica Huston), who admits to being attracted to Larry, but also thinks there is validity to Carol's theory.
The unraveling of this alleged murder mystery, along with the blurred emotions of the four main characters make for a rich comic mystery that provides consistent laughs and requires complete attention.
Allen and Keaton are like a well-oiled machine here, it's hard to even imagine that Allen spent all that time working with Farrow. Alda is charming in a deceptively complex role, a man respecting another woman's marriage vows but never being deceptive about his feelings for her either. Huston makes a rather improbable role work somehow and her part in figuring out this mystery is one of the film's greatest pleasures. There is one scene involving all four actors and a doctored tape recording that had me on the floor. Kudos to Jerry Adler who brings an unexpected richness to the role of the suspected murderer.
An original and imaginative entry from the Allen library that his fans should eat up. 8.5/10
Allen originally wrote the film for himself and Mia Farrow, but then the whole Soon-Yi controversy blew up and Farrow chose not to work with Allen anymore, paving the way for Allen's reunion with his best leading lady, Diane Keaton.
The primary story here revolves around Larry and Carol Lipton (Allen, Keaton), an upwardly mobile New York couple who have just sent their son off to college and are each dealing with their empty nest syndrome in different ways. Larry wants to relax but Carol wants to open a restaurant. One night, the Liptons have dinner with an elderly couple who live above them in their building. A few days later, the Liptons are rocked when the wife turns up dead and Carol becomes obsessed with the idea that the woman was murdered by her husband.
The other story is about Larry and Carol's marriage, which is solid, but both are receiving attention from elsewhere. Alan Alda plays Ted, Larry and Carol's divorced friend who has always had feelings for Carol, but has always respected her marriage, but Carol's feelings for Ted become confused when he believes her theory about the woman being murdered and happily agrees to help her prove it. Meanwhile, Larry's frustration with Carol's obsession with this woman's death finds him spending a lot of time with a client of his named Marcia Fox (Anjelica Huston), who admits to being attracted to Larry, but also thinks there is validity to Carol's theory.
The unraveling of this alleged murder mystery, along with the blurred emotions of the four main characters make for a rich comic mystery that provides consistent laughs and requires complete attention.
Allen and Keaton are like a well-oiled machine here, it's hard to even imagine that Allen spent all that time working with Farrow. Alda is charming in a deceptively complex role, a man respecting another woman's marriage vows but never being deceptive about his feelings for her either. Huston makes a rather improbable role work somehow and her part in figuring out this mystery is one of the film's greatest pleasures. There is one scene involving all four actors and a doctored tape recording that had me on the floor. Kudos to Jerry Adler who brings an unexpected richness to the role of the suspected murderer.
An original and imaginative entry from the Allen library that his fans should eat up. 8.5/10