Crimes and MisdemeanorsIs morality real, or is it a convention of social order? More to the point, is there judgment for sin? These kind of questions invariably come back to the existence of a higher power, an arbiter of justice. Big questions, but all questions which arise when we are confronted with serious moral choices, like the ones which face Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) as he approaches a potentially devastating confrontation between his wife, Miriam (Claire Bloom), and his mistress, Dolores (Anjelica Huston). Judah struggles to decide how to resolve this quandary, and in turn is confronted with his inner most doubts, that he cannot escape the constant "eyes of God" watching him and his tragic choices.
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Crimes and Misdemeanors is described by writer/director Woody Allen as a movie about "men who cannot see". A key irony here is that Judah is an ophthalmologist--an eye doctor--who among his clients includes a rabbi in Judah's circle, Ben (Sam Waterston), who counsels Judah when he is stricken with heartache after his confrontation by Dolores, who intends to reveal Judah's affair to Miriam in order to force him to leave his wife to join her. More than just a coincidence, the "eye" is always present in some sense in the film. The flip side to Judah's tragic story is the more familiar Woody Allen fare, the comedic edge to the story, where struggling documentarian, Clifford Stern (Woody Allen himself), finds himself commissioned to make a film about his arrogant brother-in-law, Lester (Alan Alda), and ends up becoming infatuated with an associate producer, Halley Reed (Mia Farrow). In essence, Cliff's camera is his "eye", the presumably objective machine which makes an account of what kind of man Lester really is, although even Cliff subverts his credo as a documentary filmmaker by editing footage of Lester to make him appear absurd (which he actually is). Cliff records Lester's "sins" (albeit comparatively minor ones), just as "God" records Judah's. (I would observe that Sven Nykvist, the director of photography who worked closely with Ingmar Bergman, also fulfills the same role for Crimes and Misdemeanors; who better to embody the eyes of God?) For Judah, the eyes become a metaphor for the guilt which escalates within; not as much for his affair, but the decision he chooses to make to finally rid himself of Dolores' aggressive efforts to shatter his world. Judah's recollection of when he first met Dolores is succinct, a quick flashback to a happy time when the doctor and the flight attendant met en route to Boston. In a psycho-thriller like Fatal Attraction, Dolores would be the psychopath looking to ruin Judah's simple, joyful life; but here, she is hurt by his unwillingness to commit to her, having used her only to be discarded. Judah is the one who makes the fatal decision simply to sweep his infidelity (and apparent fiduciary transgressions) under the rug.
Judah's confession to Ben is not one born from self-reproach or guilt, but because he is seeking a means to evade his insulated world from being compromised. He talks of how he and Ben view the world in different ways--Judah from a secular view, Ben from his faith--and Ben wisely and honestly suggests that he confess to his wife, to be free of his sin and allow the risk that their relationship might mature in light of this event. Judah refuses to believe that this is the answer, really because his pride won't allow it; so he turns to his brother, Jack (Jerry Orbach), who indicates that if Dolores won't listen to reason, she can be "gotten rid of". It's interesting that neither Judah nor Jack use the word "kill", but euphemisms like "taken care of", and so on, lessening the impact on the conscience. Judah initially claims he is appalled at the suggestion, but Jack sees right through his self-righteous act, and acknowledges that Judah is only seeking him out because he is afraid to do what "must be done". Judah's conversations with Ben and Jack are ones of the "angel and devil on the shoulder" variety, although Judah's self-proclaimed skepticism falters following his decision, as he recalls--even envisions--moments from his past, his father a rabbi, warning him that no man can evade the eyes of God. And all of a sudden, Judah's guilt forces him to re-evaluate his understanding of God in light of his terrible sin.
Judah's struggle parallel's Cliffs on some level, kind of like the "high drama" versus the "low comedy" of William Shakespeare's plays, like "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Cliff's great struggle is trying to get Halley to fall for him, who is interested in Cliff's filmmaking aspirations, which he pitches to her in the form of footage shot of Louis Levy (Martin S. Bergmann), a philosopher who talks of the nature of love and the difficulty people have with God, perceived as stern or removed from humanity. He talks of the story of Isaac, when God demanded a sacrifice in the form of Abraham's son, something which seems more relevant for Judah's situation, although one suspects Judah has never had to make any authentic sacrifices. Both Judah and Cliff have other similarities, such as the presence of women for whom the need for love is a very real pain--for Judah, it is Dolores, and for Cliff, it is his sister, Wendy (Joanna Gleason). There is also the presence of infidelity as a given, although in Judah's circle it is a concealed stain; it seems like an inevitability in Cliff's world--even he's trying to cheat on his wife. In essence, if Judah is the "crimes", Cliff is the "misdemeanors", although Cliff's pain for wishing to form some relationship beyond friendship with Halley appears to be genuine. These two stories intersect perfectly at a marriage reception, when Judah and Cliff finally cross paths, both removing themselves from the festivities, both alone with their thoughts more or less, although they find their thoughts share a bit in common. It is the real climax of the film, the moment when you realize that high or low, rich or poor, happy or sad, faithful or skeptic, we all face choices; heaven help us if we falter at the moment of truth.
Recommended for: Fans of a morality tale, a heady drama with moments of comedy intercut--two stories of men faced with moral challenges. It is also interesting that it is fundamentally a story about God but is not a religious film, a paradox suited to Judah's character.
Judah's confession to Ben is not one born from self-reproach or guilt, but because he is seeking a means to evade his insulated world from being compromised. He talks of how he and Ben view the world in different ways--Judah from a secular view, Ben from his faith--and Ben wisely and honestly suggests that he confess to his wife, to be free of his sin and allow the risk that their relationship might mature in light of this event. Judah refuses to believe that this is the answer, really because his pride won't allow it; so he turns to his brother, Jack (Jerry Orbach), who indicates that if Dolores won't listen to reason, she can be "gotten rid of". It's interesting that neither Judah nor Jack use the word "kill", but euphemisms like "taken care of", and so on, lessening the impact on the conscience. Judah initially claims he is appalled at the suggestion, but Jack sees right through his self-righteous act, and acknowledges that Judah is only seeking him out because he is afraid to do what "must be done". Judah's conversations with Ben and Jack are ones of the "angel and devil on the shoulder" variety, although Judah's self-proclaimed skepticism falters following his decision, as he recalls--even envisions--moments from his past, his father a rabbi, warning him that no man can evade the eyes of God. And all of a sudden, Judah's guilt forces him to re-evaluate his understanding of God in light of his terrible sin.
Judah's struggle parallel's Cliffs on some level, kind of like the "high drama" versus the "low comedy" of William Shakespeare's plays, like "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Cliff's great struggle is trying to get Halley to fall for him, who is interested in Cliff's filmmaking aspirations, which he pitches to her in the form of footage shot of Louis Levy (Martin S. Bergmann), a philosopher who talks of the nature of love and the difficulty people have with God, perceived as stern or removed from humanity. He talks of the story of Isaac, when God demanded a sacrifice in the form of Abraham's son, something which seems more relevant for Judah's situation, although one suspects Judah has never had to make any authentic sacrifices. Both Judah and Cliff have other similarities, such as the presence of women for whom the need for love is a very real pain--for Judah, it is Dolores, and for Cliff, it is his sister, Wendy (Joanna Gleason). There is also the presence of infidelity as a given, although in Judah's circle it is a concealed stain; it seems like an inevitability in Cliff's world--even he's trying to cheat on his wife. In essence, if Judah is the "crimes", Cliff is the "misdemeanors", although Cliff's pain for wishing to form some relationship beyond friendship with Halley appears to be genuine. These two stories intersect perfectly at a marriage reception, when Judah and Cliff finally cross paths, both removing themselves from the festivities, both alone with their thoughts more or less, although they find their thoughts share a bit in common. It is the real climax of the film, the moment when you realize that high or low, rich or poor, happy or sad, faithful or skeptic, we all face choices; heaven help us if we falter at the moment of truth.
Recommended for: Fans of a morality tale, a heady drama with moments of comedy intercut--two stories of men faced with moral challenges. It is also interesting that it is fundamentally a story about God but is not a religious film, a paradox suited to Judah's character.