Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Director: Woody Allen

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

In the first of two loosely interwoven stories, rich, philanthropic ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal (Landau), afraid his lover (Huston) will reveal all to his wife (Bloom), decides to dispose of the former with the help of a hit-man friend of his brother. In the second, more comic story, earnest, impoverished documentarist Clifford Stern (Allen), falls for the producer (Farrow) of a TV tribute he has reluctantly agreed to make about the brother-in-law he hates (Alda), a conceited, successful maker of sitcoms. Judah and Clifford meet only in the final scene: what links them throughout is guilt, stemming from an obsessive interest in matters of faith and ethics. It's an extremely ambitious film, most akin perhaps to Hannah and her Sisters, the narrative and tonal coherence of which it sadly lacks, though the assured direction and typically fine ensemble acting manage partly to conceal the seams. Dramatically, the film seldom fulfils its promise, and its pessimistic 'moral' - that good and evil do not always meet with their just deserts - looks contrived and hollow. Intriguing and patchily effective, nevertheless.

Author: GA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies

Time Out's 50 greatest monster movies

As Joe Johnston’s long-awaited reinvention of Universal’s howl-at-the-moon classic ‘The Wolfman’ hits cinemas, Time Out lists our 50 favourite cinematic stalkers, growlers, slashers and biters.

Mark Kermode: A life in film

Mark Kermode: A life in film

Dave Calhoun chats to Britain's most outspoken film critic and pundit ahead of the release of his memoirs

Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?

Has Ricky Gervais gone all serious?

The trailer to 'Cemetery Junction' suggests that its writer-director is suppressing his funny bone.

The genius of Roman Polanski

The genius of Roman Polanski

Ahead of his new film, 'The Ghost', we must forget the media circus and remember the artist pleads Wally Hammond

Oscars 2010: The nominees

Oscars 2010: The nominees

Tom Huddleston offers his acute analysis on the list of nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards

Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report

Rotterdam 2010: Geoff Andrew's report

Geoff Andrew finds rich leftfield pickings at the 2010 Rotterdam Film Festival

Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?

Can Tom Ford cut it as a director?

After ten years as creative head of Gucci, Tom Ford has directed his first movie. Nina Caplan meets him

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade

So here it is… Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this.

2009: The year in film

2009: The year in film

We look back at the best movies of 2009 and pick out some of our favourite lists, features and interviews.