Looking at the Woodman’s cinematic views on ‘90s matrimony
By now there’s very little storytelling terrain that Woody Allen has yet to explore via film. The legendary writer/director has humorously broached everything from international political unrest to the complexities of human sexuality. Yet it’s his take on marriage and the continuously evolving ways in which men and women relate to each other which have continued to be the most concurrent of themes within his vast collection of work. In the 1980s, when Woody Allen had already firmly become Woody Allen, marriage and relationships was well-known to be one of his favorite storytelling motifs. In typical Allen fashion however, there was a humorous cynicism that flowed through his depictions of marriage such as in Broadway Danny Rose and The Purple Rose of Cairo, in which the helmer seemed to be skeptical of married life, focusing instead on ways of escaping it. By the close of the decade, that skepticism had morphed into full on fatalism as seen in 1987’s September and 1988’s Another Woman, in which marriage was seen as an almost literal black hole.
By the time the ‘90s came around, the filmmaker seemed to ease up his dour views on the institution and replaced them with a thoughtfulness and a curiosity of sorts that struck a chord with many of his admirers. Allen’s work at the beginning of the decade (at least those dealing with male/female relationships) showed a desire to tackle the subject of marriage with a different perspective; one which felt inclined to find out what exactly happens when two people who had once been each other’s everything, find themselves at a crossroads they never expected to be at. In both 1992’s Husbands and Wives and 1993’s Manhattan Murder Mystery, Allen presents three sets of couples who, through different circumstances, are forced to explore the people they’ve become and where they must go.
In Husbands and Wives, college professor Gabe (Allen) and his wife Judy (Mia Farrow) are shocked by the revelation that longtime friends Jack (Sidney Pollack) and his wife Sally (Judy Davis) have decided to divorce after many years of marriage. The decision causes Gabe and Judy to re-examine the state of their own union as all four individuals begin to venture into the world outside their marriages. Meanwhile, in Manhattan Murder Mystery, happily married couple Larry (Allen, again) and Carol (Diane Keaton) are doing what they can to not let their marriage get stale in the wake of empty nest syndrome when they become involved in the sudden disappearance of their next door neighbor.
In looking at the state of the three couples beforehand, there’s certainly a sense of complacency that they each share. Everyone is more or less happy (or at the very least content) with the lives they’re leading; or so it appears to the outside eye. That’s what makes Jack and Sally’s revelation so earth-shattering. The couple’s display of marital bliss almost served as a source of inspiration for Gabe and Judy, who no doubt incorporated the image of their friends’ union into their own. When Jack and Sally amicably decide to separate, Gabe and Judy follow suit, realizing that they too want more out of life as the four embark into the world of singlehood. In Carol’s case, it’s the remaining symptoms of empty nest syndrome which fuels a suspicion that her neighbor has murdered his wife which awakens her, causing the housewife to play detective by hiding under beds and tailing suspects. Larry (the only one of the group who is legitimately content), shuns his wife’s suspicions and her detective work mainly because he doesn’t understand it, yet relents and gets involved himself as a result of the fear that he may lose his wife to it.
It’s interesting to observe the vast changes which happen to Sally, Judy, and Carol throughout the course of their stories. Always one to write intriguing female portraits which also happened to be layered, Allen does a very credible and insightful job at exploring what happens to the content longtime married woman when she decides to set foot into a world other than the one she created with her husband. What happens is a both an introduction and a rediscovery to a society which brings to life a side of themselves they’d either forgotten or were never aware of. Sally finds herself unable to reconcile her new life as a singleton with the fact that Jack is able to enjoy the same freedoms (brilliantly illustrated by an Oscar-nominated Davis in one of the film’s best scenes). Likewise Carol finds herself both cautious and adventurous the more she gets into the case in front of her, but begins to retreat slightly when Larry becomes invested in it as well; almost as if she resents having to share the thrill of the mystery with her husband. It’s Judy who undergoes the greatest internal conflict as far as the women are concerned. Not really wanting her separation, Judy feels guilty for falling for a handsome coworker (Liam Neeson) whom she sets up with Sally. Eating away at her even more is the act of discovering the cracks in her own marriage and the part she played in creating them.
The men are no less liberated than the women as a result of the changes in their marriages. Yet it’s almost a reverse sort of liberation, one which seem like false and forced, born out of the aimlessness which has plagued their married lives. Gabe aims to find youth and vitality by spending time with a student (Juliette Lewis), but is unable to carve out an identity for himself when he’s around her that fully works. The same goes for Jack, who, like his wife, becomes crazed at the thought of the love of his life being with someone other than him. Much like Gabe, his identity is attached to Sally’s, making him unable to function as his true self with anyone else. It’s worth nothing though that while the dissolution of Jack and Sally’s marriage was mutual and peaceful, the aftermath brings with it the kind of hostility and aggression which usually leads to a couple splitting up. Larry meanwhile eventually finds himself being drawn into the murder much in the way his wife was and becomes just as proactive in solving it, giving a sort of ‘90s Nick and Nora Charles vibe to his and Carol’s marriage. Yet one gets the sense that for Larry, solving the case means winning back Carol’s interest and attention in his eyes.
The outcomes of the three couples couldn’t be more different simply because each couple is themselves unique, even if their conflicts and experiences also happen to be universal. However if there is one common trait which is unanimously shared by each of the six characters, it is the fear and anxiety which accompanies middle age. The questioning of who a person is when they hit 50, how they’ve spent their life and who they’ve spent it with are huge questions which Judy, Gabe, Sally, Jack, Carol and Larry all wrestle with in different, but authentic ways. Some characters embrace their newfound freedom, some revert back to old lives and some find a happy balance in the middle. A case can certainly be made that through both Husbands and Wives and Manhattan Murder Mystery, Allen could well have been dealing with own confusing thoughts on middle age as he was himself approaching the same stage of life as his characters. The fact that he gave his characters such different perspectives on what happens when men and women reach a certain impasse, showed how affected Allen was by such a pivotal point in a person’s life, becoming some of his most personal work in the process.
Perhaps no Allen supporter or detractor will ever be able to mention either Husbands and Wives or Manhattan Murder Mystery again without adding their own two cents regarding the scandal that plagued the production and release of BOTH films. Critics and audiences at the time had a field day picking apart various elements of all the characters in an effort to see just how much life imitated art in the Woody/Mia household. While the scandal helped the former film’s box-office take, giving Allen a certified hit, the thunderous backlash resulted in a decidedly chilly audience reaction for Manhattan Murder Mystery, despite the intriguing draw of Allen and Keaton’s reunion.
Regardless of what transpired back in the day, both titles continue to stand the test of time and remain two of Allen’s most noteworthy films. Husbands and Wives is continuously being cited by many as one the top Woody Allen screenplays of all time, full of his trademark wit and telling commentary, both of which have aged extremely well. Meanwhile, not only does Manhattan Murder Mystery remain one of the Woodman’s best-reviewed comedies, but is also looked at as a special favorite among Allen apologists for the reteaming of what many consider to be one of cinema’s greatest screen couples. In the years since, Allen hasn’t altogether abandoned the subject of marriage as a theme from his films. Small Time Crooks, Match Point, Blue Jasmine and last year’s Wonder Wheel each offer up their own unique takes on matrimony a la Woody Allen style. Yet no two Allen offerings have been able to better capture the intricacies of a specific time in a marriage and their profound effects on its participants.
Husbands and Wives and Manhattan Murder Mystery are both available on Blu-ray from Twilight Time.
