Apropos of Nothing

Woody Allen

All or Nothing at All – In even the least successful Woody Allen film – given he’s now written or directed about 50 movies, his work can be plotted on a bell curve – there’s always something to admire: memorable lines, memorable shots, remarkable performances, delicious music, fascinating sets (I always find myself studying the apartments and homes in Allen’s movies). Over the years, I also have relished Allen’s essays, going back to his collections “Without Feathers” and “Side Effects.” So, it is no surprise I thoroughly enjoyed his autobiography. In the book, Allen recaps his childhood and describes his journey from joke writer to stand-up comic to moviemaker. He doesn’t shy away from his falling out with Mia Farrow or the unfounded allegations. He also notes his financial feuding with his one-time friend and producer, Jean Doumanian. For me, though, the most compelling parts of the book come when he’s writing about his movies. For a person who has made some true cinema classics (“Annie Hall,” “Manhattan,” “Hannah and Her Sisters,” “Midnight in Paris,” and so on), Allen considers himself to be more like a carpenter than a visionary architect. “The fun of making a movie is making the movie, the creative act,” he writes. “The plaudits mean zilch. Even with the highest praise, you still get arthritis and shingles.”