Known for his cinematic wit, Allen has explored numerous genres, including absurdist comedy, romance, musicals, farce, satire, and with this film, mystery.
Re-joining Allen for yet another film is Diane Keaton of "Annie Hall" fame. Allen and Keaton portray Larry and Carol Lipton, a married couple who discover their elderly next-door neighbor, Mrs. House, was offed by her husband, who, it is learned through a series of quintessential Woody Allen plot twists, is involved in a much larger plan to conceal two deaths and maintain two mistresses.
"Manhattan Murder Mystery" falls into the category of Britsh murder mysteries invented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and perfected by Agatha Christie. The British style usually begins with the murder or the discovery of a body, followed by an intricate
 |
Top 10 Books(Publishers Weekly)
|
"Manhattan Murder Mystery," though, is by no means strictly a whodunit. It contains a sampling of Allen's legendary wit, especially in his trademark neuroticism: "Could you save some craziness for menopause?"
The film also falls quite nicely into the niche of New York culture so often explored in his later films. But it is the darkest side of human sin - murder - that Allen is exploring here, a first for him.
The setting of the film is its most effective characteristic. This same story could not be told in the dustlands of Kansas. A neurotic and funny thriller needs the stark openness associated with the Big Apple - the prying into of private lives and the peculiar need for inquiry - actions that lead their creators into serious threats of personal safety.
Such is not the case here, however, where, even when lives are at stake, the audience is laughing at the absurd situations into which the characters have unwittingly placed themselves.
The New York of Allen's films is very much a limited scope of reality. He usually sticks to upper middle class, intellectual culture, and this film doesn't stray from that aesthetic. Like "Manhattan," "Manhattan Murder Mystery" shows the city in its cleanest state. Even the steel mill scenes appear well-kept and recently swept.
What works in "Manhattan Murder Mystery" is the building of suspense consistently maintained by Keaton and Allen. After seeing a late night screening of Alfred Hitchcock's "Double Indemnity," Keaton is intrigued by the recent heart attack-attributed death of the neighbor lady, and is further piqued when she realizes the widower's calm benevolence at the loss of his wife.
Alan Alda, portraying friend and playwright Ted, enters the mystery by concocting solutions as to how the murder was committed. Together, Alda and Keaton begin stakeout operations, resulting in gutsy private eye sleuthing. Keaton is the driving force behind the film's suspense. At times her curiosity is almost immature, yet inspiring, making for amusing comedy.
Always a skeptic, Allen benignly watches on with disapproval while Keaton pursues the secrets of the murder with unskilled aplomb. It is isn't until Keaton discovers the still-alive Mrs. House that Allen is convinced of Mr. House's evil doings and murderous scam, and is impelled to join his wife in brining the murderer to justice.
Together, Keaton and Allen pursue the still-living Mrs. House, only to later discover her now truly dead body in a hotel across town. Now, with a real death, the duo sleuth their way into blackmail.
Unfortunately, the real dead body of Mrs. House is destroyed, and they have nothing, body nor proof, with which to approach the authories, and Mr. House seems to have committed the perfect crime, sans responsibility.
Alda, Keaton and Allen are later joined by the always sexual Angelica Huston, who portrays Allen's client and clever novelist Marcia Fox. Huston determines a possible solution for how the murder was committed and helps the bewildered bunch to develop a plan for justice.
A delicate balance of suspense, comedy, intrigue and New York neuroticism are definitely worth a re-viewing of "Manhattan Murder Mystery."
1. "Black Notice," Patricia Cornwell
2. "The Alibi," Sandra Brown
3. "Dark Lady," Richard North Patterson
4. "Assassins," Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
5. "In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner," Elizabeth George
6. "Hannibal," Thomas Harris
7. "White Oleander," Janet Fitch, Little
8. "The Killing Game," Iris Johansen
9. "Mother of Pearl," Melinda Haynes
10. "The Edge," Catherine Coulter
1. "Unpretty," TLC
2. "Bailamos," Enrique Iglesias
3. "Summer Girls," LFO
4. "She's All I Ever Had," Ricky Martin
5. "Genie in a Bottle," Christina Aguilera
6. "Lost in You," Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines
7. "Smooth," Santana Featuring Rob Thomas
8. "All Star," Smash Mouth
9. "Where My Girls At?" 702
10. "Someday," Sugar Ray
1. "Stigmata," MGM
2. "Sixth Sense," Buena Vista
3. "Stir of Echoes," Artisan
4. "Runaway Bride," Paramount
5. "Bowfinger," Universal
6. "The 13th Warrior," Buena Vista
7. "The Thomas Crown Affair," MGM
8. "Mickey Blue Eyes," Warner Bros.
9. "Chill Factor," Warner Bros.
10. "The Blair Witch Project," Artisan
1. "Fly," Dixie Chicks
2. "Christina Aguilera," Christina Aguilera
3. "Millenium," Backstreet Boys
4. "Supernatural," Santana
5. "Significant Other," Limp Bizkit
6. "Baby One More Time," Britney Spears
7. "Devil Without a Cause," Kid Rock
8. "Forever," Puff Daddy
9. "Ricky Martin," Ricky Martin
10. "Mary," Mary J Blige
1. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," ABC, Sunday 9pm
2. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," ABC, Thursday 8:30pm
3. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," ABC, Tuesday 8:30pm
4. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," ABC, Friday 8:30pm
5. "60 Minutes," CBS, Sunday 7pm
6. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire," ABC, Wednesday 8:30pm
7. "Touched by an Angel," CBS, Sunday 8pm
8. "Football: Broncos vs. Packers," ABC, Monday 8pm
9. "Dateline, NBC," NBC, Monday 10pm
10. "Will & Grace (R)," NBC, Tuesday 9:30pm
1. "Shakespeare in Love," Miramax
2. "Payback," Paramount Home Entertainment
3. "8MM," Columbia/Tristar Home Video
4. "Enemy of the State," Touchstone Home Video
5. "Analyze This," Warner Home Video
6. "Rushmore," Touchstone Home Video
7. "A Civil Action," Touchstone Home Video
8. "Cruel Intentions," Columbia/TriStar Home Video
9. "True Crime," Warner Home Video
10. "The Thin Red Line," FoxVideo
09-16-99
| Previous Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |