Review: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger follows two married couples whos relationships have broken down for various reasons. Allen is on good form and the film feels very relaxed and subdued from the get-go when Leon Redbone’s ‘When You Wish Upon a Star‘ kicks in during the titles. The film boasts a strong ensemble cast: Gemma Jones as a women split from her husband, seeking consolation from a fake psychic, is particularly entertaining, giving an excellent comedic performance. Anthony Hopkins plays the departed husband of Jones’ character who has recently found love with a woman half his age (Lucy Punch) – there’s some particularly amusing scenes where we see how out of touch he is with his young love.

Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin star as the second couple, and are both well cast and give strong performances despite being of a more serious nature. Frieda Pinto and Antonio Banderas feature in small roles and are both on top form. Woody Allen’s representation of Brits is a bit off at points (Brolin’s character pursuing a woman who he has been watching from his window, seems a bit odd) although this never really detracts from the enjoyment of the film. Although there’s nothing overly wrong with the film you may come away disappointed purely because it’s not as good as some of Allen’s previous efforts. However, anyone aware of his work will know his films fluctuate in quality.

This is a nice mellow effort from Allen with some quite funny moments and is worth a watch for the performances.