Back on home territory, after a sojourn on the continent, Woody Allen has reunited with his muse, New York City for Whatever Works. The hits and misses of his European period have not dented his enthusiasm for witty, neurotic musings on life, love and religion. His purist fans must be delighted he is back in the Big Apple after five years, returning to the landscape that inspired Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters - films that have given Woody Allen his exulted status as a director.
Whatever Works follows the story of an aging suicidal misanthropic physics genius, Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David). This is a man who has got the self-destruct button firmly in sight, unable to understand the how or why of happiness. Boris is rude, funny and ultimately confused by life. Eking out a living as the worst children’s chess teacher ever, he spends his time preaching his beliefs about life, love and religion to his friends and whoever else gets in his way. Boris’ life takes an unusual twist when he has a chance encounter with a southern teenage runaway, Melody St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood). She is the polar opposite of Boris; sweet, young, pretty, naïve and somewhat dumb (in an amusing beauty pageant kinda way).
Click here to read my full review at Trespass
