Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
- Woody Allen
- Kay Chapin
- Richard Patrick
- Lisa Janowski
- Brian A. York
- Woody Allen
Rating: 6.785/10 by 500 users
Alternative Title:
Acords i desacords - AD
甜蜜與卑微 - TW
Tekkelig og tarvelig - NO
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 35 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $4,545,858
Plot Keyword: new york city, jazz, guitar, night life, egocentrism, jazz singer or musician, pretty woman
Presented in a documentary style, this drama looks at the life of the fictional jazz guitarist "Emmet Ray" (Sean Penn). Now, of course, he is American so is naturally the best in the whole wide world, well second best actually, and that is testified to by frequent obsequious pieces-to-camera from purported experts and then by his own performances as he plays standards from the likes of Django Reinhardt, the masterful Stéphane Grapelli and Duke Ellington. Director Woody Allen has a penchant for this style of music, and as faux-homages go this isn't at all bad. That's really thanks to a strong contribution from Sean Penn as the frankly pretty odious character who's selfishness was probably only eclipsed by his increasing obsession with the shy mute "Hattie" (a gorgeous effort from Samantha Morton) who comes to depend on him, but might he actually come to depend on her too - despite himself? It's a great looking film with plenty of attention to detail, and it does work well at illustrating just how important it is for people to have decent anchors in their lives. The dialogue is all a bit too relentless for me with very little time to come up for air as this rattles along but it's all genuinely and uncomfortably plausible at times, too. Pity about the constant hyperbole, though - how can anyone be the best guitarist? Hmmm?
