Manhattan Murder Mystery
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| Manhattan Murder Mystery | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster |
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| Directed by | Woody Allen |
| Produced by | Robert Greenhut |
| Written by | Woody Allen Marshall Brickman |
| Starring | Woody Allen Diane Keaton Anjelica Huston Alan Alda |
| Cinematography | Carlo Di Palma |
| Editing by | Susan E. Morse |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 18, 1993 |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13,500,000 (est.) |
| Gross revenue | $11,285,588 (USA) |
Manhattan Murder Mystery is a 1993 film directed by and starring Woody Allen, who plays Manhattanite book editor Larry Lipton.
Synopsis
As the story begins, Lipton and his wife Carol, played by Diane Keaton, meet their neighbors Paul and Lilian House, played by Jerry Adler and Lynn Cohen. After Lilian dies, Carol becomes curious about her death. She then drags her reluctant husband into an amateur criminal investigation. The title was originally a generic working title of the sort Allen uses while shooting most of his films and was never changed. The movie, co-written with Marshall Brickman, features performances by Anjelica Huston and Alan Alda as friends of the couple, who also become involved in the investigation (albeit to a lesser extent).
Shot on location in New York City like most of Allen's movies, Manhattan Murder Mystery adds to the genre of murder mystery with musings on middle age and marriage. The film harks back to Allen's more farcical comedies of the 1970s, rather than his romantic dramas of the 80s and 90s. Allen says he was inspired by The Thin Man series of films.
Production
The screenplay for Manhattan Murder Mystery originally started out as Annie Hall but Woody Allen did not feel that it was substantial enough even though he loved mysteries. He decided to go in a different direction.[1] He had put off making the film for years because he felt it was too lightweight, "like an airplane book read".[2] Allen decided to revisit the material in the early 1990s, contacting Marshall Brickman, who co-wrote Annie Hall, and they worked on the story some more.[3] His wife in the film was originally written for Mia Farrow until she and Woody Allen ended their relationship and became embroiled in a custody battle over their three children.[4] Allegations in the media claimed that changes were made to the film in what was "definitely a reaction" to Allen's relationship problems, including the casting of Anjelica Huston in the role of what the script had called, "a much younger first-time novelist" with whom Allen's character became romantically involved.[5]
In the fall of 1992, Allen called Diane Keaton and asked her to fill in for Farrow and she immediately accepted.[2] When asked if he had re-written the script to fit Keaton's talents, Allen said, "No, I couldn't do that. In a regular script I would have done that upon hiring Diane Keaton. But I couldn't [here] because it's a murder mystery, and it's very tightly plotted, so it's very hard to make big changes....I had written [the part] more to what Mia likes to do. Mia likes to do funny things, but she's not as broad a comedian as Diane is. So Diane made this part funnier than I wrote it".[6]
Making the film was a form of escape for Allen because the "past year was so exhausting that I wanted to just indulge myself in something I could relax and enjoy".[1] He also found it very therapeutic working with Keaton again. After getting over her initial panic in her first scene with Alan Alda, Keaton and Allen slipped back into their old rhythm.[2] After she had trouble with that scene, Allen decided to re-shoot it. In the meantime, she worked with her acting coach and did other scenes that went well.[7] According to Allen, Keaton changed the dynamic of the film because he "always look(s) sober and normal compared to Keaton. I turn into the straight man". Huston said that the set was "oddly free of anxiety, introspection and pain", and this was due to Keaton's presence.[2]
The film was shot in the fall of 1992 on the streets of Greenwich Village, the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. Larry and Carol Lipton's apartment resides at 200 East 78th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenue.[4] Allen staged a climactic shoot-out in a roomful of mirrors that, according to Allen, referenced a similar shoot-out in Orson Welles' film, The Lady from Shanghai.[8]
This was Allen's second and final film with TriStar Pictures, and it was speculated in the press that this deal was not extended because of the filmmaker's personal problems, or that his films were not very profitable. Allen, however, denied these allegations in interviews at the time.[1] Zach Braff made his feature film debut in a one-scene role as the son of Allen and Keaton's characters; Braff later said, "When I look at that scene now, all I can see is the terror in my eyes".[9]
Reception
Manhattan Murder Mystery opened on August 18, 1993 in 268 theaters and made USD $2 million in its opening weekend. It went on to gross $11.3 million in North America, below its estimated $13.5 million budget.[10]
The film enjoyed mostly positive reviews and currently has an 86% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, "On screen, Keaton and Allen have always been made for each other: they still strike wonderfully ditsy sparks".[11] USA Today gave the film four out of four stars, and advised fans to forget Allen's tabloid woes because "there's a better reason why Allen fans should give it a shot. It's very, very funny, and there's no mystery about that".[12] Janet Maslin, in her review for the New York Times wrote, "Although, Manhattan Murder Mystery struggles with its own contrivances, it achieves a gentle, nostalgic grace and a hint of un-self-conscious wisdom".[12] However, Desson Howe, in the Washington Post, complained that there was "little 'new' in this film. Allen and Keaton are essentially playing Alvy Singer and Annie Hall gone middle-aged".[13]
Awards
BAFTA Awards: Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Anjelica Huston
César Awards: Best Foreign Film
Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Comedy/Musical, Diane Keaton
References
- ^ a b c Fine, Marshall (August 18, 1993). "Woody's Take", USA Today.
- ^ a b c d Dowd, Maureen (August 15, 1993). "Diane and Woody, Still a Fun Couple", New York Times.
- ^ De Curtis, Anthony (September 5, 1993). "What's With Woody?", Toronto Star.
- ^ a b Span, Paula (May 4, 1993). "Here Comes the Judgment", Washington Post.
- ^ "Pop Culture News: Yet Another Woman". Entertainment Weekly (1992-10-02). Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ Bjorkman, Stig (2004). "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition", Faber and Faber.
- ^ Green, Tom (August 24, 1993). "There's No Mystery to Keaton's Relation to Woody", USA Today.
- ^ Pendreigh, Brian (September 6, 1993). "A New York Story", The Scotsman.
- ^ "Breakouts: Best Rx". by Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly. (2001-12-21). Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
- ^ "Manhattan Murder Mystery", Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 1 February 2008.
- ^ Ansen, David (August 30, 1993). "Play It Again, Woody", Newsweek.
- ^ a b Clark, Mike (August 18, 1993). "Allen's Murder Mystery: Hedunit Brilliantly", USA Today.
- ^ Howe, Desson (August 20, 1993). "Allen's Marital Mystery Cure", Washington Post.
External links
- Manhattan Murder Mystery at the Internet Movie Database
- Manhattan Murder Mystery at Allmovie
- Manhattan Murder Mystery at Rotten Tomatoes
Related links