Celebrity

A lot of people like this film - and indeed, I suppose it could be argued that there are a number of things that work in its favour - however, for me, it is easily the worst Woody Allen film that I have so far seen, and I own 28 of them. Call it a matter of personal taste, but the main problem I had with the film was the complete lack of interest in any of the characters or the situations that they find themselves in; with Allen creating a shambolic, Fellini inspired freak show filled with grossly caricatured pantomime players parading from one scene to the next with no thought or feeling. When you think about the ideas behind the film, this particular presentation becomes almost genius (albeit, unintentionally so) and should have really led to some wicked satire on the nature of celebrity and the lengths that people will go to in order to maintain it. Unfortunately however, the film fails to build on this premise and becomes disengaging; largely because it has absolutely nothing of interest to say!

I suppose if it was simply Allen's intention to truly capture the sense of vapid, empty malaise of celebrity life in a way that created a similar feeling for even the most inattentive of viewers, then he certainly succeeded with this; creating a film in which pretentious, narcissistic characters wander from one improbable scenario to the next, continually complaining about the dissatisfaction of their personal lives and relationships, whilst never quite seeming to realise that their actual problems are really a result of their own repugnant, self-infatuated personalities. One of his more recent films, Melinda and Melinda (2004) suffered from some similar problems - with the idea of affluent, well-to-do characters complaining about how hard life is from the comfort of their Park Avenue penthouses really crippling the identifiable elements of the drama - but even then, Allen was able to offer at least some level of technical invention and an approach to the story that was interesting and unique. Here, the style is generic and unadventurous as we follow Branagh's self-infatuated and highly deluded writer/journalist and part time Allen-caricature from one assignment to the next, usually resulting in a comic seduction of an incredibly attractive woman, and a lot of talk about his supposedly great, unfinished novel.

Unsurprisingly, the lack of focus and Allen's inability to put his ideas into context or character, results in a difficult film that is sometimes "OK", and other times woefully embarrassing. I understand Allen's ultimate intention and what he was trying to achieve with both the film and the characters, but for the episodic plot to really work he had to offer us some original insights, moments of imagination and a series of larger than life characters that were truly iconic. There's nothing here that is as unique, exciting and exotic as something like Nights of Cabiria (1957) or La dolce vita (1960), two films that Celebrity (1998) seems most heavily indebted to; with the characters generally trying to outdo one another in terms of bland pontification, snobbery and self-delusion. Certainly, I can understand why some viewers would enjoy the film - the cinematography is impeccable, there are some definite laugh out loud moments and some fine supporting performances from the talented and eclectic cast - however, there's nothing here that hasn't already been said before in far greater films such as Manhattan (1979), Stardust Memories (1980) and Husbands and Wives (1992), to name just three.

Both Branagh and Davis are terrible as the divorced couple central to the narrative, with both actors employing the usual quirks and ticks of Allen's regular on-screen persona in their own delivery and mannerisms, with Branagh in particular trying to "act" the part of Woody Allen, albeit, with none of the comic timing or genuine feeling of self-deprecation. Davis is just as bad - woefully over-the-top and shouting her lines in a way that was at least fitting when she played the same part in Husbands and Wives - whilst the scene in which her character and Bebe Neuwirth's prostitute perform Fellatio on a pair of bananas is cringe-worthy and really beneath a filmmaker of Allen's great stature. Many of the other members of the cast are fine however, including Charlize Theron as a seductive supermodel, Leonardo DiCaprio as the typically hedonistic Hollywood trouble-maker, Joe Mantegna as Davis' sensitive love-interest and Famke Janssen as one of Branagh's numerous bedroom companions; but ultimately the lack of an interesting central character is a real handicap that severely affects the impact of the film.

Ten years on, and Celebrity still remains one of Allen's most difficult and polarising works, and a close relation to Deconstructing Harry (1997) in terms of dissenting critical opinion amongst long term fans and admirers. For me, it is simply a film that I didn't enjoy on any level; whilst the people that did like it probably liked it for the reasons that I failed to connect with it. I suppose there are some individual factors that are interesting enough in their own right, however, for me it simply felt like Allen repeating himself; going over the same old themes and scenarios that he'd already expressed in far greater films and creating something sluggish and lazy. I'd still rank him as possibly the greatest living American filmmaker, simply off the strength of the films that he produced in the 70's and 80's, but this is surely a middling, or perhaps even mediocre effort by anyone's standards?