Husbands and Wives, written and directed by Woody Allen - 9.5 out of 10

Husbands and Wives, written and directed by Woody Allen
9.5 out of 10


Woody Allen is one of the legends of the screen trade, although over the years he may have reached the point where he is more criticized and rejected than admired.

This is the age of MeToo and the behavior of the iconic actor, writer and director is not one that would be tolerated in the present, albeit the most wild accusations, mostly made by his ex-wife, Mia Farrow, are not proved, as far as I know.
In Husbands and Wives, we do see Gabe Roth, the character portrayed by Allen himself, infatuated with too young Rain aka Juliette Lewis, and detractors of the film maker would insist that this is a scheme, cliche that appears in most of his movies, if not all and they relate it to his real life marriage to the adopted daughter of his former wife.
Notwithstanding this innuendo, the motion picture is one of the best Woody Allen has made and indeed,  one of the best ever.

It is complex, amusing, thought provoking, modern, intelligent, rewarding and it would be a pity if the continuing modifications of standards would have it banned from screens, because political correctness police would act on this and so much else.
Early on, Jack aka the late, great Sydney Pollack and his wife Sally aka Judy Davis announce that they would separate, although they maintain that it is just a sensible, mature and common decision that would not make much difference.

A comic situation would actually deny that, for Sally is then supposed to go out with another man and she keeps calling from his house and arguing, fighting with and insulting her estranged husband, who connects with an outre figure, an aerobics instructor, that holds some bizarre views, believes in the alignment of the stars and zodiac signs and eventually shames Jack when compared with the sophisticated, cultivated Sally.

Meanwhile, Judy Roth aka Mia Farrow, wife of Gabe, tries to help Sally overcome her trauma and introduces her to Michael Gates aka Liam Neeson, and this would become arguably a Trojan horse.
Another perspective on that is offered by psychologists, and it is a myth that this extramarital affair has destroyed that home or another.

The affair is not the cause of the divorce, it is the symptom of a broken relationship...it doesn't break it, it happens because it is already doomed.