For
a while, it didn’t look like we’d get to see Woody Allen’s most recent film, A
Rainy Day in New York. Amazon Studios had been the company behind it, but
when the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017 while the movie was in production,
decades-old allegations against the filmmaker resurfaced, and Amazon dropped
the picture. It had originally been slated for a 2018 release, but the search
for a new distributor took another year. Finally premiering in Poland in 2019,
and ultimately in the U.S. in 2020, A Rainy Day brought Woody fans back
to an alternate universe Manhattan that exists only in the pictures of Woody Allen.
It’s
very typical Woody Allen stuff, yet another valentine to his beloved
city. In fact, for fans of the filmmaker’s work, in many ways it’s a somewhat
refreshing return to a milieu of decades past in which a new picture by Allen
would evoke the illusion that we’re in a Manhattan that exists only in the
universe of Woody Allen movies. A Rainy Day in New York is about upper
class, snobby, intellectual young people who seem to have stepped out of the
1970s and into today. Therein lies the rub, as one might find these characters
a little difficult to believe as real in the year 2020.
Nevertheless,
it’s decent middle-of-the-road fare for Woody Allen. Since the New Millennium,
the director’s output has been hit and miss (and more miss). This is an
in-between. It’s enjoyable and will bring back much of the vibe that admirers
of Allen’s work once felt when viewing his movies. For those who have turned
their backs on the filmmaker, it will likely be a turn-off.
The
actors are winning and attractive, even if their characters and dialogue are
out of another era. The script may be phone-in Woody, but there are some funny
lines and charming, sweet sequences that typify his pictures. Vittorio
Storaro’s cinematography provides a gorgeous view of the city, and there’s no
question that this is indeed a handsome, feast of a visual production.
MPI’s
Blu-ray release is a no-frills package with no bonus features, but it looks
marvelous. If you’re a fan, you’ll probably have a pleasant hour-and-a-half with
A Rainy Day in New York. It will remind you of a time when a new Woody
Allen film was an event, and the bittersweetness of the nostalgia will
permeate your viewing. It’s too bad that the movie has so much… baggage.