Manhattan Murder Mystery

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Woody Allen

Starring: Allen, Diane Keaton (RIP), Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Adler

From: TriStar

RIP Diane Keaton

The announcement of her death yesterday and the subsequent outpouring of love online made me realize that it’d be a mistake to not tip my hat to her as soon as possible. Others have seen her in more films than I—that said, there is regret that in my reviews of the first two Godfather films, I didn’t spotlight her and how she made the Kay character important to the story told in those two all-timers, especially when I always thought she did a swell job. Even with what relatively little I’ve peeped, she was adept at both drama and comedy.

Manhattan Murder Mystery was selected as it was new to me & is popular. I always feel obliged to do w/ the director when reviewing his films the past several years… the allegations against Woody Allen are quite serious & nauseating. However, there have been plenty of bad people in this particular field of entertainment and I can separate the art from the artist. It’s a shame he’s an alleged predator who allegedly has harmed people but I’ll say no more about it in this review.

In terms of making movies, Allen is great at it. Get this, he and Keaton are a married couple living in an NYC apartment. One night they meet neighbors Paul and Lillian, an older pair like them; the next day Lillian is dead via heart attack. Keaton and their pal Alan Alda think that Paul murdered his wife. They become obsessed over Paul & his behavior, while Woody is maddened over her behavior.

I viewed this film as prescient concerning the topic of true crime. I listen to a podcast or two about it but am not obsessed about it like some are. Unfortunately, there’s a percentage that have a dangerous obsession where they attempt to connect clues together and accuse innocent people (including spouses) of murder and other heinous crimes. Of course Larry the book editor at HarperCollins would be upset that his wife Carol would break into Paul’s apartment, among other questionable behavior, nevermind that he’s the typical nebbish Woody character.

Manhattan Murder Mystery was quite delightful. There are clues along the way that suggest Paul did kill his wife Lillian; whether Larry or Carol is right in this scenario is in doubt for awhile. There are hysterical moments and lines of dialogue from beginning to end, buttressed by solid filmmaking and (naturally for Allen) a soundtrack full of 30’s music. This was the last time Allen and Keaton worked together; her part was originally written for Mia Farrow but they broke up and well, that turned ugly and it was the start of various allegations coming out against Woody.

The cast all did a nice job; I have to note Anjelica Huston in her small but critical role and for one scene, a teenage Zach Braff appears as the college-age son of our leads. Yes, I’ve heard rumors about his behavior on the set of Garden State… I wasn’t familiar w/ Jerry Adler (who just passed away in late August) but he was swell as Paul.

Manhattan Murder Mystery was a nice way to pay tribute to the late Diane Keaton-she was quite amusing in her role. The film also is a nice tribute to the film noir genre; among other things, a clip from Double Indemnity is shown and another famous noir is gently spoofed during the climax.