SYNOPSIS
Possibly Woody Allen’s most successful combination of his comedic and dramatic instincts, Crimes and Misdemeanors is unique in that it is also one of the most serious and profound explorations of morality in mainstream film. After making Hannah and Her Sisters, Allen felt that he had let the characters get off too easily in the end, and wrote Crimes and Misdemeanors, partially, in response to that notion. The plot concerns the moral quandaries faced by two men—one a successful high-society ophthalmologist (played by Martin Landau), the other an unsuccessful documentarian (played by Allen). The ophthalmologist faces losing his entire lifestyle due to an adulterous affair, while the documentarian faces the prospect of selling out and doing a hack job for money. Thematically, it’s no walk in the park—a film where evil goes unpunished, where decency is rewarded with disappointment, a film that suggests that simply being a good person won’t get you anywhere in the end – but it’s worth pointing out that it’s a showcase of Allen’s wit at its most razor-sharp (”A strange man… defecated on my sister.”), and his romantic-comedy skills at their sweetest. With Crimes and Misdemeanors, Allen is able to bring his gifts as a comedian and as a dramatist together and create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.