Melinda and Melinda

This film probably marks the crucial point where Woody Allen takes one step back and lets others take over the Woody persona of a typical Allen film. It's happened before, in Celebrity and Anything Else, but now the lead characters can breathe as themselves without having to essentially 'be Woody'. Sure the resemblances are still there but more in the situations than in the characters. Will Ferrell displays proper comic timing and Jonny Lee Miller tries valiantly with what he's given. The script sparkles with more one-liners than most recent efforts and an appropriate return of the 'lust for life' motif seen in earlier films such as Hannah and Her Sisters or Everyone Says I Love You. If you don't appreciate that comic situations are both sad and full of life, and that tragedy has a fair share of unexpected delights as well as heartache, than you're definitely missing the point. Woody displays both of these in equal quantity spread liberally throughout the film in all situations. And so what if the end plays more like a series of sketches than a full-on film? It's the mark of a master than can make us enjoy what we see regardless of narrative form. 8 out of 10.

I went to see this film a bit skeptical, because Woody's last movies were not his best ones. In the last ten years, he has made funny, entertaining films; some quite interesting, as "Decontructing Harry" or "Sweet and Lowdown", but generally unimportant. But wit "Melinda and Melinda" he has made one of his most brilliant films. As in "Crimes and Misdemeanors", he mixes two different stories -a dramatic one, and a light comedy-. The result ins quite different; this movie is not as critic as that, but is really enjoyable. He mixes a drama -serious, deep, with well-built characters, and really credible- and a delicious comedy -with really funny quotes, and moments that recover his best of the 80's-, with a lot of talent, because the two stories complete each other, the movie doesn't creak.

Radha Mitchell is wonderful as the two Melindas: suggestive and content in the drama; innocent, tender and funny int he comedy. And Will Farrell, who takes the 'Woody Allen role', is the best choice he has done for that purpose ever- because instead of imitating Allen, he creates a new character, human, pleasant and funny. The script is great; with parallelism and second interpretations- And the movie is really entertaining. I hope it will get the attention it deserves; and I expect Woody Allen to keep this new walk in his career. (9/10).

Is Melinda and Melinda one of Woody Allen's best? To me, no it isn't. Is it one of his worst? Again, no but like a fair amount of Allen's films it seems to be quite a divisive film, and you can see why. Things considered, while not a great film and with some unevenness Melinda and Melinda is a good film but a love-it-or-hate-it one as well. As with almost all Woody Allen films, it's beautifully made- such attractive locations and the cinematography flows from one frame to the other with few problems- and Allen directs very assuredly on the most part if more in the comedy scenes than the dramatic. The music fits with the atmosphere really well and has a nostalgic and catchy quality to it too. The acting is mostly very good, Radha Mitchell shows that she is as easy in comedy as she is in drama, funny and warm-hearted in the comedy scenes and affecting in the dramatic ones. Chloe Sevigny is another one of the reasons that makes the drama more watchable than it is, she looks very natural and plays with emotion, while Amanda Peet is fine too though underused. Will Ferrell was the biggest surprise of Melinda and Melinda, his performance was by far and away one of the best performances of the younger Allen alter-ego characters. Much better than Kenneth Branagh in Celebrity and Jason Biggs in Anything Else, whereas they were pale imitations Ferrell had charm and charisma and made the role his own in a way the other two did not. Not everybody impressed though, Chiwetel Ejiofor is stiff and Johnny Lee Miller is rather one-note in a quite boorish role. I am in agreement with those too that the comedy here is better than the drama. The comedy in Melinda and Melinda was great, very witty and quotable and a lot of it did make me laugh out loud. The scenes with the comedy are bright and breezy and have a light-hearted feel that is most endearing, and the characters while somewhat typically neurotic are relatively easy to engage with and the spirited performances help. The drama is not on the same level(a surprise really because Allen has shown that he can do comedy and quite insightfully and truthfully and those qualities unfortunately didn't come through), some of the dramatic scenes do drag a lot, the dialogue does sound forced and overwrought and the characters are much less likable and interesting than in the comedy story(fairly unusual for Allen, he has been known to have compellingly real characterisation when he takes on drama like in Hannah and Her Sisters and Husbands and Wives). The concept was an ingenious one, one of Allen's cleverest concepts actually, and Allen does make a commendable effort in entwining the two stories together even if it did personally feel a little confusing sometimes and the film does feel like one with two halves. All in all, Melinda and Melinda an uneven film but it is also a good and interesting one and in terms of where it sits within Allen's filmography I'd say somewhere in the middle. 6.5/10 Bethany Cox

Woody Allen as a stand-up comedian saw the humor in some of life's injustices. Here he suggests infidelity is one of those injustices. At first glance, this "open" attitude seems at odds with the fact that virtually all Woody Allen films have been love stories (even Bananas!); maybe they're really falling-in-love stories. To dramatize this story, he wisely included Rhadha Mitchell, Chloe Sevigny, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose performances were as hypnotic as their names (the others, in lesser roles, were also good). What happens is routine; it's just a set-up to evaluate various ways of reacting to infidelity. Some of the dialog is among the best I've heard. How we react to setbacks can be an important part of our lives (not as important as showing up, of course). Woody Allen's philosophy of life isn't rocket science: when possible, have a good time. And bring a friend.

I thought that this film is right out of the classic Woody Allen mode. His theme of having events determined by others -- in this case, the writers -- was reminiscent of his one-act plays, "God" and "Death," and follows the tracks of the worldview he has always explored in his films. It was very well-written and crafted, an enjoyable night at the flicks.

One thing that struck me is that the character played by Will Ferrell is exactly the part that Woody can no longer play because he's too old. It was not long into the film before I discerned that these are lines that Woody had written for himself, the character he'd always played, but a younger man was delivering them for him. And that only added to the charm of the film for me.