Allen's 'Tall Dark Stranger' Zeroes In On Vanities, Relationship Woes

Having just seen Woody Allen’s latest film, Midnight in Paris, in the theaters, I decided to re-watch his 2010 film…You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, which once again brings Woody Allen to London (his locale for Match Point, Scoop and Cassandra’s Dream) with a story filled with quirky characters and romantic mishaps. 

Not as sharp and clever as Midnight, Stranger is still a fine study of relationships…what goes wrong, how it goes wrong, etc.  Of course, all of this is done with Allen‘s trademark wit and wry humor…though the commentary on relationships can be insightful. 

Anthony Hopkins and Gemma Jones portray long-married couple Alfie and Helena…where Alfie  has just traded in Helena for a younger (MUCH) model. 

Alfie and Helena’s daughter, Sally, (played by Naomi Watts) and her husband Roy (Josh Brolin) are going through considerable marital issues of their own.  Roy is smitten with a woman he has been voyeuristically spying on, though Sally has her own heated crush on her boss. 

Soon, Alfie finds that “younger” does not also equate to greener pastures.  And Roy finds that he has problems much bigger than a new girlfriend and Sally that just because she has a crush, it’s not always reciprocated. 

Sounds like lots of woes, right? But thankfully, Allen tells his woeful story with a humorous spin.   I think with another writer and a different cast, this one might have gotten too arduous…all those problems, all those dramas.  But, Allen knows from his years of screenwriting how to keep even monotonous problems fresh. 

And this is also Allen’s best topic…men and women and what ensues when the sexes get together.  It’s what made his career…films like Annie Hall and Manhattan.  Not that Stranger is as good as those classic Allen relationship films, but at least Allen is still following what he knows best and doing a better job than most of his contemporaries. 

The cast also contributes to the enjoyment here.  Watching Hopkins play the smitten, cuckolded older man is priceless.  And Brolin, known mostly for his doomed baddie roles in films such as American Gangster, Milk, and True Grit, is perfect here, though under a different type of doom than usual.  His character, in addition to relationship drama, has a moral dilemma to work through as well.   And Brolin plays the moral ambiguousness just right.  

If you want relationship woes at their best, rent Annie Hall.  If you want something newer, though just as witty, try this one.