You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)

Follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Hopkins) and Helena (Jones), and their daughter Sally (Watts) and husband Roy (Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into ... See full summary »

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Gemma Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gemma Jones	...	Helena
Pauline Collins	...	Cristal
Anthony Hopkins	...	Alfie
Rupert Frazer	...	Jogging Partner
Kelly Harrison	...	Personal Trainer
Naomi Watts	...	Sally
Josh Brolin	...	Roy
Freida Pinto	...	Dia
Eleanor Gecks	...	Rollerblading Friend
Antonio Banderas	...	Greg
Fenella Woolgar	...	Jane
Ewen Bremner	...	Henry Strangler
Christian McKay	...	Poker Friend
Philip Glenister	...	Poker Friend
Jonathan Ryland	...	Poker Friend

Storyline

Follows a pair of married couples, Alfie (Hopkins) and Helena (Jones), and their daughter Sally (Watts) and husband Roy (Brolin), as their passions, ambitions, and anxieties lead them into trouble and out of their minds. After Alfie leaves Helena to pursue his lost youth and a free-spirited call girl named Charmaine (Punch), Helena abandons rationality and surrenders her life to the loopy advice of a charlatan fortune teller. Unhappy in her marriage, Sally develops a crush on her handsome art gallery owner boss, Greg (Banderas), while Roy, a novelist nervously awaiting the response to his latest manuscript, becomes moonstruck over Dia (Pinto), a mystery woman who catches his gaze through a nearby window.

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Plot Keywords:

writer | fortune teller | charlatan | call girl | manuscript | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA Spain

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 August 2010 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Untitled Woody Allen London Project

Filming Locations:

Albion Riverside, Battersea, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£112,168 (UK) (18 March 2011)

Gross:

£112,168 (UK) (18 March 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mediapro, Versátil Cinema, Gravier Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First feature film directed by Woody Allen that is not produced by Charles H. Joffe. Joffe, who had worked with Allen for nearly 40 years, died in July 2008.

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Goofs

When Ray (Theo James) is massaging Charmaine's legs, his hands keep on changing position from shot to shot.

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Quotes

Helena Shebritch: Another life. I just have to shed the old one and try again.

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Connections

Featured in De wereld draait door: Episode #6.73 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Laser Luxe"
Written & Performed by Rupert Pope & Reece Gilmore A.K.A Silver/Sir Realist
Courtesy of Extreme Music

User Reviews

"We need some delusions to keep us going." - Woody Allen,

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, the latest Woody Allen's film is light, airy, lacy, elegant, sad, bittersweet and tender, just like a Boccherini musical piece for guitar that a beautiful young woman was playing sitting next to the window in a London apartment/flat. It is also funny, sharp, mocks the absurdity of existence, and manages to highlight the insignificance and callousness of the characters yet not to judge them while letting them search for "bell' alma inamorata", and are not we all searching? Allen is still the master of his craft, the creator of charming dra-medies. His favorite and constant themes of lives and deaths of the relationships, of growing older and refusing to accept it, of trying to postpone the inevitable meeting with a "tall dark stranger", of struggle to find the reason in a tale, "full of sound and fury", are all here. But he knows how to look at the familiar material from the unusual angle by mixing masterfully humor and seriousness, light touch and insight in the right proportions to explore the desires, longings, and motivations of the characters. One of the themes Allen was interested while working on the Tall Dark Stranger was faith in something because it is for humans to prefer the power of self-delusions over the darkness of bitter truths. He said: "This sounds so bleak when I say it, but we need some delusions to keep us going. And the people who successfully delude themselves seem happier than the people who can't." Sounds too serious but it is Allen's film, and is ironic, witty, and light. I ask myself why I love Allen's films so much and always wait for them impatiently. One of the reasons, he makes them for adults and about adults. His target audiences want to see a clever intelligent film without being manipulated or spoon fed. I admire Allen for respecting his viewers: "I never write down to them. I always assume that they're all as smart as I am . . . if not smarter". Or, more likely, I love his films because the beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, and my eyes are always open to the beauty of his films. They are so perfectly constructed and framed. They look and sound terrific. While watching them, I don't understand how can they not be liked and admired by everyone? His short films are not small to me. I need them and I always will.