Melinda and Melinda

Having avoided blog-ging (for no particular reason) for two terms, I thought I'd take a break from revising Hegel and start now!

I wanted to post something about Melinda and Melinda, the new film written and directed by Woody Allen. I hadn't seen any of Woody Allen's films before, but I went to see this one last week, having read a great review.

This is a fantastic film, the best I've seen all year.

The premise (and don't worry: this isn't going to reveal anything or spoil the film for anybody) is a group of four friends in New York, having dinner and arguing about whether the essence of life is comic or tragic. Two of the friends are playwrights. One writes comedies and the other writes tragedies, and they each have a different view on this subject. Another person at the table tells a story and challenges the two playwrights to tell him whether this story is comic or tragic. The rest of the film unfolds in a Sliding Doors-esque kind of way, where two separate stories are told, both involving the character Melinda. One is comic; one is tragic.

I was hoping that Warwick Student Cinema would show this film during term 3, so that more students would get to see it.

It really is a fantastic film. Very philosophical (which appeals to me!), very cleverly scripted and featuring some terrific performances. I laughed and sympathised, and I had that strange feeling of emotional ambivalence about what I'd just seen when I left the cinema. I think the last film that made me feel like that was Lost In Translation (another terrific film – see it, if you haven't already!)

Has anyone else seen this? I'd like to hear what you think.

: 16 Apr 2005 02:51 |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem