Film Review

09 January 2009 03:22 BST

Cassandra's Dream

Directed by Woody Allen, out now, starring Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor, running time 108 mins.

In a nutshell...

An Irishman and a Scot pretend to be cockney.

What's it all about?

Two brothers, living in south London, find themselves penniless after buying a sailboat named Cassandra's Dream. They ask their high-flying uncle for help. But Uncle Howard is in trouble himself, facing jail unless his business partner, is taken care of. To get their money, the brothers must "get rid" of him.

But can the brothers deal with the repercussions? It appears not. Terry suffers from panic attacks, and attempts to confess all to the police. The film reaches its climax as the two brothers come to blows on the deck of Cassandra's Dream.

Who's in it?

Ewan McGregor plays Ian, a young man who wishes to go places in the world. The only thing standing in the way of his investments is his lack of funds, something which he will do anything to overcome. McGregor seems out of place in this film, and seems to be consistently improvising.

Colin Farrell stars as Terry, who has trouble keeping his money in his pocket, and away from the bookies. Down on his luck, Terry chooses to go ahead with his brother. Farrell has absolutely no presence on the screen, and it is fair to say that the only reason he is in the film is to work with the legendary director.

Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars

The chance of this film being considered for the Oscars '09 is very small. After such legendary films as Manhattan and Annie Hall, there is a sense that Allen is on a downward spiral. The acting is abysmal too.

And the likelihood of this film doing well in the box office is also questionable – not even two of Britain's biggest male stars can save this film.

What the others say

"After Match Point and Scoop (not released in the UK), this is his third mediocre London movie in a row - a run that would have destroyed lesser reputations." – Guardian

"The whole thing plays like a below-par episode of EastEnders crossed with a below-par episode of Howard's Way. How the mighty have fallen."– Times

So is it any good?

It pains me to say this, but Woody Allen seems to have lost his touch. We have seen this happening over the last few years, with his other London based tragedies Match Point and Scoop, but Cassandra's Dream is a low point.

The basic plot sounds intriguing, and indeed would make for an excellent black comedy. But the focus is instead on the tragedy of the two brothers. And of course this would be good if the lead roles were acted well. But both McGregor and Farrell stumble along, never really getting to grips with their characters.

It is difficult to empathise with the tragic climax, with no real reason to care about the fates of these characters. And this is entirely due to the bad script and the awful acting.

Other characters are also underplayed, and the focus is placed clearly on Ian and Terry. It is a shame that the female characters, especially Angela (played successfully by Hayley Atwell) are not more pronounced.

One only has to remember the brilliant humour and subtlety of Annie Hall to see the striking change in Allen's career. We can only pray that, in the future, Allen will return to making these kinds of film, and leave the London-based tragedy to directors who knows how to tell this kind of story well.

4/10

Matt Crowhurst

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