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Title: Deconstructing Harry (1997)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Judy Davis | ... | Lucy | |
| Julia Louis-Dreyfus | ... | Leslie | |
| Stephanie Roth Haberle | ... | Janet (as Stephanie Roth) | |
| Dan Frazer | ... | Janet's Dad | |
 |
Joel Leffert | ... | Norman |
| Lynn Cohen | ... | Janet's Mom | |
| Richard Benjamin | ... | Ken | |
| Joe Buck | ... | Yankee Announcer (voice) | |
|
|
Jane Hoffman | ... | Grandma |
| Woody Allen | ... | Harry Block | |
| Tobey Maguire | ... | Harvey Stern | |
| Annette Arnold | ... | Rosalee | |
|
|
Frederick Rolf | ... | Harvey's Doctor |
| Elisabeth Kieselstein-Cord | ... | Rosalee's Sister | |
|
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Lortensia Hayes | ... | Jennifer |
Harry Block is a well-regarded novelist whose tendency to thinly-veil his own experiences in his work, as well as his un-apologetic attitude and his proclivity for pills and whores, has left him with three ex-wives that hate him. As he is about to be honored for his writing by the college that expelled him, he faces writer's block and the impending marriage of his latest flame to a writer friend. As scenes from his stories and novels pass and interact with him, Harry faces the people whose lives he has affected - wives, lovers, his son, his sister. Written by Gary Dickerson <slug@mail.utexas.edu>
I'm sure some people wouldn't agree with me, but this movie is a great piece of art on film. Like Hitchcock, Coppola, and others, Woody Allen is a real cinema artist. He makes great use of the possibilities of cinema without losing himself in expensive special effects.
Of course cinema is a medium to create a near-perfect realism on a fictional story. But it can also be an artistic medium. Playing with the possibilities. An example in this film is Robin Williams. A men who is 'out of focus'.
The story is, like most films, not very original. A character that struggles with his personality and social life. But unlike most movies, you can see an artist made this film. It's a Woody Allen creation. His own style, his own characters, his own humor. Not a collection of an expensive scriptwriter with an expensive director, an expensive special effects team , an expensive director of photography etc. to make a total non-personal creation for the big public. Of course the whole crew did a perfect job, but it is surely a Woody Allen film!
A great movie with a nice plot. Some nice switching in timeline and fiction / reality (for the story that is) makes it more interesting then the story really is. Also the jumpcuts, the camera movement, the cast and the humor are making this film a must see! Even if you are not a Woody Allen fan you will like this movie. If you are a fan of big blockbuster movies (standard Hollywood confention movies) this movie is a must see as well! Not only to see the real art of cinema (something different then perfect special effects) but also just for a nice evening and some good humor.