Celebrity Review
by "Alex Ioshpe" (ioshpe AT online DOT no)November 6th, 2000
DIRECTED BY: Woody Allen
WRITTEN BY: Woody Allen
CAST: Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Winona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith
MPAA: Rated R for language, sex and some drug use.
Runtime: USA:113
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RATING:9/10
For most of us the life of a celebrity and its glamour is synonymous
with romances, love and happiness. Woody Allen takes us behind the set
to a world of movie stars, famous writers, supermodels and
TV-celebrities.
Whether he has succeeded in presenting a film about the concept of
celebrity is debatable though because this film throws itself in
probably a dozen directions, not really leaving familiar Allen
territory. Lee, a disillusioned journalist decides to abandon his
shallow marriage with a neurotic school teacher Robin (Judy Davies),
in pursuit for excitement and light, which is missing in his gray,
monotonous life. This sudden decision leaves Robin crushed and
confused, on the verge of a complete breakdown. Strange coincidences
guide them both on an unknown path and their lives will never be the
same.
Woody Allen is certainly a celebrity if attention from the tabloids is
any judge and well qualified to write a film about wanting to be
famous and being famous. He seamlessly builds a world of pretentious
chatter and unctuous flattery, of TV priests, celebrity plastic
surgeons and their entourages, where backstage at a tabloid talk show
the hit men have agents and the skinheads have eaten all the
bagels. There are only two concerns: ordinary people desperately want
to gain fame and the famous ones are desperately trying to keep
it. Nothing of what is shown in this film is shocking or
revolutionary. Lee has mistaken fame for happiness and commercial
success for fulfillment. He bitterly discovers that the lives of the
famous and adored are soulless and shallow, with relationships as
random and uncertain as their business deals. The world behind the
stage is structured of endless flaws, limitations and illusions. Of
course most of the "reevaluations" concerning the true lives of
celebrities we already know. But everything is presented with such
grace and realism that it is impossible to refuse. The drama is moving
and realistic. The wit is often sharp and very funny with solid stabs
being made at Catholic idolatry, the media, supercilious film
directors and spoilt brat stars. There's a fine moment of two some,
hilarious, some touching.
The film is actually two parallel stories where one is Lee's quest for
happiness in the celebrities' world, and the other is Robin's life and
its radical change. "Celebrity" is about much more than the couple's
failed love life, although that string of dismal disappointments does
give shape to the larger narrative. Beginning with his divorce from
wife Robin (Judy Davis), "Celebrity" charts Simon's disaster course
through his fling with a starlet (Melanie Griffith), his flirtation
with a supermodel (Charlize Theron), his hotel foursome with a hot
young stud (Leonardo DiCaprio), his relationship with a live-in lover
(Famke Janssen), to his affair with an age-inappropriate waitress and
theater hopeful (Winona Ryder). More than anything else, this is (at
least to me) a story about the twists and turns of life and the power
of coincidences that somehow control our destiny.
This is certainly not the best of Allen's work, but absolutely not a
bad effort. Though the theme in his films is always different, there
are certain "trademarks" that brand all his work: a clever story that
is mostly driven by a neurotic character with deep emotional problems
and of course a cast that is more spectacular than most. "Celebrity"
is no exception. It is very well written, with many multidimensional
characters that inhabit its world. But the most important element is
that there is no catharsis, no climax. The film is simply candid
fragments of different lives. It is visually compelling with brilliant
black & white photography by Sven Nykvist, that uses the shadowy
ambiguity to create a granular and viscous monochrome of astonishing
clarity. As in most of Allen's films you'll find great actors, such as
Wiona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Melanie Grifith and Leonardo Di Caprio
appear in tiny, episodic parts. Though I always found that
unnecessary, I have come to terms with the fact that a cast like that
simply can't disappoint no matter what. And no one does. Ryder and Di
Caprio have some great moments; and Davies is truly spectacular,
almost repeating her role in Allen's "Husbands and Wives", portraying
the classic Woody Allen female break down but then haltingly blossoms
when famous TV producer Tony (Joe Mantegna) falls unreservedly in love
with her. But can she cope even with this? The main character that
basically carries the film on his shoulder is played by Kenneth
Brannagh that looks great in any role. Here it seems as if Woody
Allen's spirit has taken complete control of his body, since he acts
completely as Allen himself, with a kind of neurotic sweetness that
mark every moment of his screen time. Although Brannagh is an
incredibly talented actor and his performance is very entertaining, I
find it bizarre that Allen would hire a serious actor that could do
his own interpretation of this character and instead force him to copy
his work. I truly believe that Brannagh could actually do more with
his c h wish to see his spirit on screen.
In a way, Allen comes to a rather stereotypical conclusion that fame
is a beast and not worthy of worship, but he inserts so much more in
his film that it will take more than one review to find reasons to
recommend this picture.
--
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
