Sweet and Lowdown

Rating:
Summary: Penn and Morton are terrific!
Review: A minor rebound after last year's disappointing "Celebrity", but still fairly insubstantial compared to the Woodman's past works. The best part of the film is Samantha Morton as the film picks up everytime she's on screen. Her hot/cold, bittersweet relationship with Emmet Ray is the highlight of the film. Penn also does a great job picking at the guitar. Looked like a real pro.

Rating:
Summary: KBC
Review: I am a guitar player and really appreciated the music. I thought Sean Penn was spectacular in the part and did a great job fingering the guitar. Very realistic! The character Emmett Ray was unbelievable but most entertaining. Sweet and Lowdown is a DVD I will watch over and over.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but loses its way
Review: "Sweet and Lowdown" has two of the greatest performances in recent memory. Samantha Morton, who got all the credit, and Sean Penn are brilliant. They do real acting. Penn could have easily let the character slip into some gimmicky caricature, but he maintained both the clownishness and the tragic side of Emmett Ray. He really does make the film. Also, the music is wonderful, and the cinematography, and period detail are all very nice.

As happens often in Woody's recent films though, the story loses its way, and on repeated viewings, I find it hard to sit through after Uma Thurman comes into it. First of all, her performance is noticably weaker than the other leads, and Woody tries to throw in one of his philosophies, and the charm wears off. It really is shame, because up until Thurman enters the frame, it's a wonderful movie. I do think that he needed to replace the actress in the last scene, who was just awful, and the same can be said of a few other performances. I do recommend that any fan of jazz, Penn, or, of course, Woody Allen, sees this at least once, and letterboxed if possible.

Rating:
Summary: any of sean penn
Review: I do not like him.So Ido not watch his moves.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story, Great Acting, Great Music
Review: I was delighted to stumble onto this film. I am a great fan of Django Reinhardt and was pleased to learn about Emmett Ray. In fact, I am eager to find out how to get a hold of any or all of Mr. Ray's recordings. If anyone knows how to, I would appreciate a note emailed to me at '[e-mail]'. This man was an extraordinary talent and I could listen to his music all day. Sean Penn is amazing and continues to prove that he is one of our great American actors. He is one of my favorites. The actress playing Hattie is sweet and sincere and also astonishing. It was delight to watch her too. Pick up this film and take a ride to the magical world of the depression era and jazz music.

Rating:
Summary: Another interesting failure for Woody
Review: This film starts out well, and is excellent much of the time, particular the scenes with Penn and Samantha Morton (whose performance is Oscar-worthy, but eventually slides back into the same old Woody Allen stick that hasn't really seemed fresh for at least a decade of films. Unless you are a hardcore Allen fan, this movie will probably lose you about halfway through,

Rating:
Summary: Woody Allen looks at an artist and his ego. A fine movie.
Review: I was lucky enough to see Woody Allen's 1999 release "Sweet and Lowdown" in the theater, twice in fact! I say "lucky" not only because this is an enjoyable and clever film, but because the film only played for a short while, and mainly in small "arthouse" theaters. This is really a shame, because "Sweet and Lowdown" could easily have appealed to wide audience, and not only to those who frequent Woody Allen films. This is the bittersweet tale of Emmett Ray, a fictional depression-era jazz guitar legend who is cursed with an ego of truly IMMENSE proportions! Arrogant ol' Emmett would love you to believe that he is the greatest musician to ever strap on a guitar, but his love/hate relationship with real-life guitar legend Django Reinhardt gives us a hint of his underlying insecurity. Emmett, played with utter precision by Sean Penn, is the kind of self-worshiping, self-absorbed "artist" who walks all over those close to him without really noticing them. The flippant way in which Emmett treats the women in his life is downright disgraceful, and is sometimes even painful to watch thanks to Penn's expert acting. The story is told in a sort of PBS doumentary style, with several "jazz experts" (including Woody Allen as himself) providing much of the details of his life through on-camera interviews and voice over narration. The story follows the ups and downs (mostly downs) of Emmett's musical career and private life, and gives us both lighthearted comedy and subtle food-for-thought along the way. Emmett is a man completely out of touch with his own emotions, and the film realistically portrays the outworkings of an artistic ego running out-of-control. A highlight of "Sweet and Lowdown" is the stellar performance of British actress Samantha Morton as one of Emmett's put-upon lady friends, an all-too-understanding mute girl named Hattie. Morton lights up the screen with her unusual screen presence, and in the course of the story she wins us over with her genuine sweetness. (Was the title "Sweet and Lowdown" meant to refer to the unbalanced relationship between Hattie and Emmett?). As you would expect from a film written and directed by Woody Allen, the dialogue is sharp throughout, and the films visual style keeps the story moving forward in a positive way. If you are looking for an alternative to all of the standard Hollywood fare of today, then "Sweet and Lowdown" may be just what you are looking for!

Rating:
Summary: Great Music, Memorable Acting, Wonderful Directing!
Review: I think only a filmmaker like Woody Allen could of pulled off a movie like this. Everyone, whether your an Allen fan or not, knows his love for music of the 20's and 30's. It's because of his knowledge about jazz and outstanding filmmaking ability that "Sweet and Lowdown" proved to be one of the best films of 1999! The movie centers around a fictitious jazz guitarist named Emmet Ray, who as the film goes on we learn is the second greatest jazz guitarist in the world, except for "some gypsy from paris". Allen tries his hardest to make us believe everything we see on screen, I know people who after seeing this movie actually thought that Emmet Ray existed. But we learn a lot about Emmet, when he plays his music, it's the most beautiful thing you've ever heard, but when his not playing jazz, he's one of the most screwed up people you'll ever meet. We find out he's a drunk, a kleptomanaic,and a pimp among other things. But most people forgive him for all his "bad sides" as soon as he starts to play his guitar. This is a theme Allen worked on in "Deconstructing Harry". That of the artist only being able to function properly in his\her art but not in life itself. And after watching the movie it's hard to think of anyone else besides Sean Penn acting in the role of Emmet Ray. Penn delivers an Oscar worthy performance, that in my opinion,should have gotten him the Oscar. Penn really had to show his wide range as an actor to pull off this role. It's a character that demands great skill to play. Samantha Morton plays Hattie, who turns out to be the one true love of his life, only when he realizes it, it's too late, this makes for the very emotional scene at the end. Even though the role of Hattie is that of a mute, Morton managed to steal every scene she's in! Playing the role of a mute is difficult for any actor or actress due to the fact your not able to express yourself with words. But Morton's mere facial expressions tell us everything we need to know about the way she's feeling. Now as I said before Allen tried to make us believe everything we saw on screen this is due to the fact that actually jazz aficionados were seen in the movie, for example we see Nat Hentoff, Ben Duncan and Allen collaborator Douglas McGrath. The costume designs and production designs in the film should have been up for Oscars. They truly represent that time period of the 20's and 30's. And of course the music played by Howard Alden is played in the style you hear other musicians of that time play. In short this is a movie that should please everyone who watches it. Despite that fact if your an Allen fan or not. But it does help if your an Allen and jazz fan to begin with. Good performances by Uma Thurman( who wasn't given enough screen time I thought) and Anthony LaPaglia in supporting roles. And an outstanding score including songs like "There'll Be Some Changes Made","Limehouse Blues", "I'll See You In My Dreams", and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams". This is a movie that the Academy overlooked in many catergories, and should not be overlooked by the public. A truly unforgettable film by one of America's greatest comedy filmmakers.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet... Yes, Kind Of...
Review: As a Woody Allen fan, it's very hard for me to say anything about this movie.

Because on one hand, it does not come up to his expected level as a movie in a whole (although »Celebrity« was not a favourite of mine either - maybe his movies are just better when he starrs in them himself).

But on the other hand, there is something about it. Something new, I dunno... I'm still chewing on that one... Days after I've watched the movie...

It might be the characters that are extremely funny. Nearly like in Woody Allen's BOOKS!

Not only are they well-played (Sean Penn is kinda self-ironic, overacting to a perfectly balanced extent! Brilliant!!), they are also composed of a lot of witty and simple characteristics that they become geniusly complex. For good and for worse. One thing is sure, though: For once there are no particularly clever and/or intellectual characters in a Woody Allen movie!

So, basicly it's not the STORY but the witty details of the CHARACTERS which carry »Sweet And Lowdown« through. And makes it a very funny movie, all in all!

Rating:
Summary: another woody gem
Review: another stylistic gem from woody allen getting into a 30s jazz guitar groove with fascinating characters and a quirky storyline. sean penn delivers the goods with an arresting performance as the train loving rat shooting dissolute django rheinhardt wanna be. a beautiful ensemble production that hits all the right notes