Woody Allen: Husbands and Wives

After watching three Woody Allen movies in eight days, I approached this one expecting to see some of the same quirks and tics of the others. I knew to expect the typical Woody Allen character and a story about the romantic entanglements of rich New Yorkers, but I decided to pick three much smaller things to look for that had shown up in Annie Hall, Manhattan and Hannah and Her Sisters:

- A scene where Woody Allen finds deep significance in the work of Groucho Marx

- A scene where Woody Allen rants about the stupidity of rock music

- A male costar playing a character who is more corrupt and compromised than Allen’s character

I was both disappointed and relieved that there were no references to the greatness of Groucho or the depravity of rock music but on the third point the issue seemed a bit muddier. In Annie Hall, Tony Roberts’ character represents the slick soullessness of California and contrasts Allen’s more culturally righteous, true blue New Yorker. At the beginning of Manhattan Allen’s character may be dating a high schooler, but at least he has a firm moral code, unlike his friend played by Michael Murphy who first cheats on his wife and then steals Allen’s girlfriend after he has encouraged him to go out with her. In Hannah, Michael Caine plays sleeps with his wife Hannah’s sister behind her back, while Allen’s eventually marries Hannah’s other sister.

In Husbands and Wives it is Sydney Pollack who plays the role of Allen’s foil, and the contrast between the two male leads is much more central than it was in any of the earlier films. Pollack’s character starts the movie by announcing he and his wife are separating, much to the surprise of Allen and his wife. As the film goes on, both men become involved with younger, attractive women, but Pollack and his wife ultimately reconcile and get back together, while Allen and his wife split up in the end. Their journeys look almost like mirror images, except that both men start the film relatively content with their lives and end it feeling quite worse.

After I left the movie I felt that both characters had been equally compromised, but thinking about it now, it seems like Allen has indeed written his character as somewhat more heroic, if still deeply flawed. The young college student he develops a crush on is smart and interesting, while Pollack’s girlfriend is not much more than a bimbo, a symptom of a midlife crisis. Pollack returns to an unhappy situation for a sense of security while Allen reluctantly embraces his situation as newly single, deciding that he won’t try to date anyone for a while. Although both men are left in depressing circumstances, Allen’s has more of a chance of improving. The distinction is a slight one, and I don’t think the film condemns Pollack’s character.

Instead, his situation is presented as one side of the coin in the dilemma that the characters in Allen’s movies struggle with incessantly: when it comes to relationships, you’re damned if you’re in one, and you’re damned if you’re alone. Husbands and Wives makes this point more bitterly than any previous Allen film. Which means Groucho Marx was missed more than ever.