Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

Celebrity to me wasn't a terrible film but it was disappointing and I consider it one of Woody Allen's weakest. Sweet and Lowdown however was a big return to form, let down only by the odd bit of lagging pacing, and is not just one of Allen's better films since Husbands and Wives but also in the better half of his filmography. Allen's films- apart from some of his very early stuff- are always very well made, but the handsome production design and colourful cinematography make Sweet and Lowdown a gorgeous-looking film, and Allen's directing also is nigh-on perfect. The haunting and mellow soundtrack is one of my personal favourites actually from his films and CD-release-worthy. Sweet and Lowdown also has a great and beautifully balanced script, some of it is charmingly witty in typical Allen style, but it also has a lot to say and does so in a way that intrigues and doesn't come across as self-indulgent and the dramatic scenes are among the, in my opinion, most poignant and sensitively done of any Woody Allen film since Husbands and Wives. Allen's mock-documentary contributions are fascinating and you learn a good deal about the music, artistry and Emmet Ray(which Allen delivers in a way that strongly suggests how he connected with the subject matter and what was being said), and the story itself has the ideal balance of comedy and drama, reflected in Samantha Morton's character Hattie, and has an immense charm to it. The characters, although a few of them are on the thankless side(ie. Ellie), are not likable- Hattie is an exception though, because she's the character that you relate to the most by quite some distance- but are written with realism, the relationships between them are identifiable and acted with every bit as much. Sean Penn gives a bravura performance and really embodies Emmet Ray, although Ray is as purposefully dislikeable as you can possibly get there's genuine sympathy to be had from him in his final scenes. Samantha Morton is even better and I'd go as far to say that she steals the show, she's really heart-breaking, has eyes and facial expressions that are really expressive and even when silent her eyes and face tell volumes. Uma Thurman is not used very much but she has a quite colourful character and she relishes it without being at odds with the rest of the film. All in all, after being disappointed by Celebrity, Sweet and Lowdown was a big improvement and is a wonderful film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Classic director Woody Allen has done some great movies. Such as Match point, Hannah and her sisters, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and Mighty Aphrodite. One of my top 3 favorites of his is the underrated Sweet and lowdown, and funnier and sweeter Allen film.Sean Penn gives a in-depth, funny performance as Emmett Ray, a fictional character. Emmett Ray is a jazz player. He's rude, mean, delusional, and kind of crazy. And likes to kill rats. And is a playboy. The film is basically a mocumentary about Emmett's triumphs, and his relationships. His relationships with Hattie(the adorable Oscar-nominee Samantha Morton), a mute laundress, and Blanche(Uma Thurman), who he gets bored with easily.I think that the main reason the film works is the two main characters. Emmett is obviously a jerk, but he's so funny. And Hattie doesn't say a word throughout the whole film, but she's such a lovable and memorable character, you want her to be happy.Emmett Ray is a man of mystery. Though he's a jerk, you love him. Morton and Penn really bring Sweet and lowdown it's life. Sweet and lowdown is funny, extremely entertaining, and charming. It's a different kind of Woody Allen film. It focuses on music, which I like. I think the film is perfect. The ending is too. This is an underrated, Woody Allen masterpiece.A

Once again we get to see Sean Penn at his charming and reckless best. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him go into his self destructive mode, losing out on the things that are really important. One could start off thinking of him as an arrogant ass, but then come to realize that he is more insecure than almost anyone. His fear of the looming Django Renihart is pretty cool. Imagine being the second best and knowing it, that is, being so good but not quite there. How many people can tell you who the second man to walk on the moon was? The money comes and the money goes and the man goes on. The cinematography of this film is wonderful, capturing an era when the jazz performer was the king.

Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999), a fictional biopic about "the world's second best jazz guitarist," Emmet Ray is sweet, funny, dramatic, filled with fantastic music and is simply terrific. "Sweet and Lowdown" reminds "Bullets over Broadway" (1994), another Allen's period movie set in the nostalgic area of great jazz and gangsters who understood and supported art and the artists, at least to the certain points. Sean Penn gave IMO his best performance as the man as talented as he was egotistic and self-centered. Creating and performing brilliantly the clear, magical, and melancholic guitar compositions, Emmett Ray (Penn) was also busy with kleptomania, a little pimping on the side, dealing with gangsters, shooting rats and watching passing trains as his favorite hobbies, and also drinking, and chasing girls. Young Samantha Morton who was only 21 and ironically never seen any Allen's movie prior to taking a role of Penn's mute girlfriend-laundress, had to do all the acting with her face, eyes, and body language and was she good. The unrequited tender and all-forgiving love has the face, and that's Samantha's face in Woody Allen's bittersweet, comical and poignant Fake documentary about a true talent which was larger than the man who possessed it.