"Love and Death" - Film Review

 Love and Death is a vehicle, like many Woody Allen movies, for Woody Allen to tell whatever jokes or observations are on his mind. The film is essentially a historical satire (and to differing extents a satire on Russian literature and contemporary European cinema), but it’s very broad in how it tells this satire. The film is more concerned at poking fun at anything and everything that in Allen’s eyes is weird, questionable, or absurd.

Set in Russia during the Napoleonic Wars; the film tells the story of Boris (played by Allen, who for all intents and purposes is practically playing himself). There are two plots at the heart of the film. The first is about how Boris finds himself in love with his cousin (Diane Keaton), but unfortunately she has no interest in him. The second involves him being drafted into the war effort against France despite his total disagreement with the war. 

Love and Death doesn’t lean on any particular type of joke. It’s the sort of comedy that throws everything at its disposal at you in order to provoke a laugh. When it’s effective, it’s incredibly effective and Allen makes you laugh like no one else. But when the film fails to be funny or becomes self-indulgent, it noticeably falls flat. However, credit has to be given to Allen for incorporating everything from slap stick to more subtle literary references. There’s humor targeting existentialism, stereotypes, racism, death, love, war, and everything in between.      

Allen’s trademarks are all here. There’s a flare for the absurd and surreal at turns. A white cloaked visage of death keeps popping up and having amusing conversations with Boris. The man that proposed to Sonja dies the moment she announces the engagement. Boris is shot out of canon and lands in the enemy’s officer tent thus ending the battle. It also features Allen’s trademark fourth wall breaking; he continually looks right at the camera and makes a summarily thematic speech or quip.  

The film reminds me most of all though of Mel Brooks. Brooks became less and less interested with plot over the course of his career and increasingly tossed too many jokes to count at his audience. This method didn’t always work but you could always appreciate the effort, especially because the films were often too entertaining to care otherwise. This film has a similar sensibility of humor to Brooks, perhaps not surprising considering they were Jewish comedians producing films around the same time.

Love and Death is uneven (and it’s best not to read into the plot too much), but that’s mostly made up for by how funny it often is.

Grade: B+