beautiful people?

Not that I’ve seen all Woody Allen’s movies by any means, but of the ones of recent vintage that I’ve caught, I notice a kind of formula: they are set in a milieu populated by well-off, self-indulgent, artsy, not particularly appealing people. The stories take place in big, glamorous places (London, Paris, Southern France) and many of the scenes have the principals going to the opera or fancy restaurants or staying at five star hotels. Lots of classical music or 1930s pop tunes wafts in the background, sometimes in the foreground. There’s a token proletarian - usually a writer or academic – thrown in (he’s a tennis pro in match Point). This character is often quite appealing and of course becomes involved with one of said beautiful people. In the course of events the romance goes awry but eventually things get sorted out.

An exception was Blue Jasmine, which was set in a working class world and in which the main character - as a result of misfortune or her own bad judgment - has been expelled from upper crust society. In any case she wants to get back into the fold, by hook or crook. BTW in fairness, the low lifes in Jasmine weren’t very attractive characters either. I didn’t particularly care for the film but it was redeemed by Cate Blanchett’s great performance.

But getting back to the Allen formula: for all their polish and beautiful surface, somehow the films carry a bad odor. What is the message? Is there a message? Maybe it’s : these people aren’t very nice, and, yes, they have their problems too, but they sure enjoy their cushy lifestyle. Or is Allen’s vision a stealth-Leftist satire in which the well-off folks are exposed for all their materialism, greed, callousness, philistinism and hypocrisy? I’ve not quite decided for myself.

These reservations being said, I rather enjoyed Match Point. I was impressed how it metamorphosed from a more or less conventional romantic comedy to a kind of mystery, even if some of the plot points hinge on wild improbabilities.