woody allen's CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS (1989)

in a lot of ways Crimes And Misdemeanors, one of my very favorites of Allen's films, seems to finally achieve what he'd been striving for to that point in his career; as obvious as the angle between them is (and as much as Woody might disagree) the dueling planes of his art intersect perfectly, satisfying his high-minded dramatic urges on a grand scale even as his own role serves up a tasteful, minor comedic story that allows itself to resonate within the narrative thanks simply to the fact that there's no pressure to carry it. his best pictures to this point had been dramedies like Manhattan and Hannah, but here he finally uses human relationships as a means rather than an end, and the result is not only one of American film's most penetrating looks at religious faith but also the emergence of Allen as a full-blown cynic, presenting a somehow darker variation on Crime And Punishment that's shocking in its fearless amorality. on rewatching, the script stands out, as it ought to: a lot of the film's power comes from the work of a master at his most focused and disciplined (if for no other reasons than to meet the steep demands of the comedic/dramatic dichotomy) and the core of that work here is a remarkable flair for scene transitions.