Directed by:
Woody AllenScreenplay:
Woody AllenCinematography:
Carlo Di PalmaCast:
Mia Farrow, Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Judy Davis, William Hurt, Joe Mantegna, June Squibb, Bernadette Peters, Cybill Shepherd, Gwen Verdon, Patrick O'Neal (more)Plots(1)
Alice Tate (Mia Farrow) is trapped in a loveless marriage to Doug (William Hurt), to the point where a chance encounter with handsome jazz musician Joe (Joe Mantegna) leaves her hopelessly conflicted. Seeking treatment for backache from a Chinese acupuncturist (Keye Luke), she confesses her feelings under hypnosis and comes away with some ancient herbs that possess mysterious and even supernatural powers. But will they solve Alice’s dilemmas, or merely make them even more complicated? And can she really throw away all Doug’s material wealth purely for love? (Arrow Academy)
(more)Reviews (2)
A Woody Allen fairy tale. The humor is scarce, but it's there ("Nothing fazes a New York cabbie!", the muse, the final party), the main character is naivety and tenderness personified, the pleasant story is easy to predict (but what kind of a fairy tale would it be then, right?).... What I liked most was the character of "Doctor" Yang and his supply of herbs. I'd take the invisibility herb every now and again.
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I smiled at the clever ending of the refined Alice, eagerly anticipating what the next herbs would do, and admired the gentle closeness of the fantastic flashbacks. And yet there is a bit of a lack of the masculine element. The usual wisecracks are purely Mia Farrow's jurisdiction this time, and while she is amazing as usual, as a character actress, she has a bit of trouble with that lightness. And the slow pace, which by Woody Allen's standards is more generous in terms of duration, is a huge obstacle.
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