Woody Allen’s Sweet and Lowdown is a sentimental love story with an unhappy ending. Like most of Allen’s works, it has become a far better work of art with a few years on its back than it seemed on first viewing (1999) — probably because audiences habitually come to the Woodman’s films with the mouth set for wisecracks and one-liners. Woody’s films grow on you; some day, when the fuss has died down, their emotional range and artistry will be better recognized.
The lovers in Sweet and Lowdown are Emmett Ray, who talks constantly but says very little, and Emmett’s girlfriend Hattie, who is mute but miraculously expressive. Emmett is a shallow, vain, brittle, damaged bit of goods who exempts himself from emotion and human connection with the assertion that he’s an "artist." Hattie is said to be dull-witted but whether she is or not we don’t know. We do know that she’s a woman of great appetites: for sex, for food, for music. Emmett cannot acknowledge that she’s his best audience and he runs like the wind when it’s revealed that she loves him. The climax of the film is inarticulate: all Emmett can manage is "I’ve made a mistake." Viewers, however, can easily fill in the gaps.
It’s a fine and lovely movie, well worth the re-seeing if only for the music and the affectionate re-creation of the 30s jazz scene. And also for the acting. Sean Penn twists his face into an expression of perpetual dissatisfaction. His Emmett Ray, except for a redeeming moment or two, is horrid and knows it. On the other side of the coin, Samantha Morton is transcendent as the vulnerable but resilient Hattie.
See Sweet and Lowdown for what it is. It’s not a farce; it’s not raucus. Don’t look to it for more than it offers or for something other than it offers. It’s sufficient unto itself.
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