Short reviews for clear and concise verdicts on a broad range of films...
Zelig (Dir. Woody Allen/1983)
Before Forrest Gump was
Zelig. Feeding a fictional character
into history is central to the story of Leonard Zelig. Prior to Christopher Guest
and his popular use of mockumentary in This
is Spinal Tap, Woody Allen was there in 1983 (Allen’s Take the Money and Run from 1969 is one of the earliest uses of mockumentary
in cinema). This is the story of Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a fictional
character in the 1920’s dubbed a chameleon due to his extraordinary skill in
changing form when stood next to a different man. If stood next to
Native-American’s – he turns into a Native American. Zelig is innovative, confident and intriguing but it lacks a sense
of pace or urgency. Once you know the skill, the consequence is less fascinating.
Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow and Adolf Hitler all appear but Zelig is
uninspiring. Shouldn’t he be the most interesting? Turns out, he isn’t.
Rating: 4/10
No comments:
Post a Comment
Copyright 2008-2015. All posts & reviews are property of www.simoncolumb.wordpress.com/Simon Columb and should not be reproduced in whole, or in part, without express permission from the author.