The story for You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is anything but simple. It revolves around two groups of people. The first is an older couple named Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) and Helena (Gemma Jones). Their marriage has been broken because Alfie refuses to get old, plain and simple. Alfie finds himself reliving a youth that has nothing to do with today’s standards and Helena is simply trying to keep her life in order after the break-up (thanks to some spiritual guidance from a fortune teller). Trailing their marital woes is Roy (Josh Brolin) and Sally (Naomi Watts). Sally happens to be the daughter of Alfie and Helena. Roy is a struggling writer who could have became a doctor (but didn’t) and Helena is a day-to-day worker who is working at an art gallery. The tension between the young couple stems from Roy’s lack of working and following his failing dreams. On the brink of insanity, both couples must find some stability, even if that means separating.
At first, I didn’t really get this film. Allen’s view on relationships certainly is accurate/believable given the circumstances presented, but his conclusion at the end of the film is extremely unsatisfying. Sure if someone decided to became selfish and follow their ‘wants’ that might end up in failure (see Alfie and Roy for details). The funny part about the story is that there aren’t any winners at the end of all this. While I’m not going to give away the ending, the only person who seems to benefit from this (and I’m still unsure if she benefited) is Helena. Roy’s dreams are dashed by his own ignorance, Alfie’s dreams are dashed by his own selfishness and Sally’s struggle to keep her life together seems to be at an end by the conclusion of the story. No one appears to have one, except Helena and that’s very debatable.
Anyway, this is what I took out of the film when I watched it for the first time, unsatisfactory conclusions. After having a coffee and petting my cat (not a metaphor — her name is Georgia and she’s a happy cat), I came to realize that Allen might have simply given us one of the best conclusions to a film that we’ve seen in a while. That conclusion? Ignorance is bliss. Alfie, Roy and Sally are trying to control their lives by waiting around to improve them using their plan that they believe has been set out in front of them. Each character fails horribly and gets what they wanted, but at a price. (SPOILER ALERT) Alfie gets his son, but it may not be his. Roy gets his novel and the notary that he was looking for, but he stole the novel from his comatose friend (who might wake up at any given minute). Sally gives up on Roy because life is too difficult and she can’t wait for him any longer, but ends up not being able to start her own art house because her mom won’t give her the funding. The only one who remotely wins in the bunch is Helena, who simply follows what the universe is giving her and stops trying to control her own fate. In the end she gets her ‘stranger’ and she becomes happy, mainly because she’s ignorant. (SPOILER ENDS)
Does this revelation make the movie great? No. The movie still suffers from an incredible amount of unbalanced pacing. As a viewer you won’t feel comfortable with how it sets up moments and releases the conclusions. The build is there and the story certainly does define the characters well, but the plot points are not spaced properly. Allen’s ability to handle multiple stories at once should never be questioned, but his entire structure for this film is not right. It will make audiences feel like I felt at first; extremely unhappy with the conclusion. Most people go into movies to be entertained, educated or engaged in some fashion or another. Regretfully, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger doesn’t really set that up for the audience. It tells the story it wants to tell and it wipes off the dirt on its hands at the end and walks away without an apology. I know that most people who watch Woody Allen movies are certainly a bit more intellectual than those who watch action movies, but the film is still asking a lot of its viewers.
Woody Allen has done better work than this in the past and handled multiple stories better, but his ability to draw you in (regardless of the imbalance) is very much intact with You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.
Anyway, the film is decent, but definitely not his best piece.
It was really nice to see it in Blu-ray format though, as England never looked so pretty in HD. The film is one of the better looking HD films that he has had recently, so there is that when it comes to watching it. You’ll be wowed with the wonderful black/white text that is tradition for Woody Allen at the beginning and even more impressed when you see the girl in red undressing in HD (did I say that? Just an example, I swear). As for the audio, it’s built for HD, but it’s not as significant in this film, as compared to others. It’s still pretty sharp, though.
The biggest disappointment about this release is the lack of features. You only get a preview and a trailer. I want commentary from Allen and crew/cast. I would have loved to have seen a ‘making of’ documentary, but instead we get nothing. It’s really a shame.