Emerenciano
Yes, that's it. Is it Allen? Put your hands on it!! I'm not saying I love all his films - and I have seen more than twenty - but I prefer to try, and I hardly ever feel down, when I learn the film I'm about to see is directed by this, that is of of the best moviemakers of all times. "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" is a sweet piece of art for, as I see it, tells a nice story in a simple - yet beautiful - way. A typical Allen thing.And the cast? Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones, Antônio Banderas, Josh Brolin .... Don't miss it!
moonspinner55
Various romances working their way through the proverbial peaks and valleys of love because, as narrator Zak Orth so pithily points out for us, "sometimes the illusions work better than the medicine." Woody Allen drama-lite shot in and around London concerns a young married couple (Josh Brolin and Naomi Watts) finding their bickering-from-room-to-room union on the brink of collapse after her parents announce their split; Brolin, a struggling writer, becomes smitten with the attractive woman in the apartment across the way, while gallery worker Watts flirts with her boss. Watts' father (Anthony Hopkins) takes up with a much younger woman (a former prostitute who may not have changed her ways) while her mother (Gemma Jones) becomes attracted to a book-seller still in love with his deceased wife. This is one of Allen's least-compelling group of characters. It isn't enough that Hopkins is humiliated by having to gulp Viagra and shell out all his money to keep his prostie-wife happy, he's further humiliated by the prospect of raising a child that isn't his (the pair are also misfits in each other's lifestyle, which is straight out of the older man/younger woman manual). Meanwhile, Brolin (looking like Kris Kristofferson in his youth) lurches through his scenes without expression, and seems incapable of reading a book much less writing one. It's a curiously indifferent enterprise, as if Allen's heart wasn't in it and his unamused cast just wanted to get through it. *1/2 from ****
bowmanblue
I hate romantic comedies. However, despite 'You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger' looking and sounding like a romantic comedy, there isn't that much romance in there. Or at least what little romance there is comes a noticeable second place to the comedy element.I haven't seen as many Woody Allen films as I probably should have, so I can't really compare how this one rates against the bulk of his others. But I can tell you that it's about a family in London and their various relationships, all of which are due to run into some major turbulence of one type or another. I can also mention that the script is pretty sharp. There is a lot of narration which I'm not sure how necessary it is. The film does tend to tell you a lot of what's going to happen before it happens. This could be considered 'lazy film-making' as it 'tells' rather than 'shows.' However, it does speed a lot of things on. The film isn't overly-long and it does seem to be pretty well-trimmed, keeping all the best bits in, instead of dragging the run-time out with a load of unnecessary scenes.The 'ensemble' cast all play their parts well. Of course you could say that one drawback from having a lot of great characters in a short film means that none of them are really 'fleshed-out' enough. But, they all turn in one excellent performance after the next.I'm not sure whether this is a 'spoiler' or just common sense, but, if you're expecting everything to turn out 'happy ever after' for absolutely everyone on screen, then you may be deluding yourself. Because there's so many characters, it would be madness to assume that everyone will be totally happy with the way things have turned out by the time the credits roll. However, there is a nice feeling of resolution to how things are left, meaning that most people should be satisfied.So, enjoy the comedy, don't expect too much romance, as the film centres on human nature rather than constantly showing us instances where couples fall in love, only to break up straight away, simply because the plot dictates that they must.http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/
Chris L
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger relies on quite the usual characteristics of a Woody Allen's dramedy: intertwined destinies, twists of fate, etc., always with that sweet-and-sour tone specific to the director. But this time, the different story lines, though relatively pleasant to follow, aren't that productive as the ones of Alfie or Helena. But the strangest thing is that it seems Allen only developed half of the plot and the movie isn't finished at all, an impression evidenced by the abrupt ending that leaves a number of issues pending, such as the stolen book. And that's frustrating because, one can't help but think that these elements, used/arranged differently, could have lead to a whole different movie, much more pertinent, especially as the cast is good, though obviously underexploited.
AD
