Directed by:
Woody AllenScreenplay:
Woody AllenCinematography:
Vilmos ZsigmondCast:
Will Ferrell, Neil Pepe, Stephanie Roth Haberle, Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Jonny Lee Miller, Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine (more)Plots(1)
The same story, more or less, told two different ways — as serious drama and as comedy. Though the drama lacks emotional intensity and the comedy lacks funny jokes, Woody Allen interweaves them deftly enough and provides some of the members of his large cast with opportunities to do some crisp, old-fashioned stage-style acting. The link between the two tales is Radha Mitchell, who plays Melinda in both — an unhappy woman who throws the romantic, professional and social lives of a group of articulate Manhattanites into mild turmoil. In the tragedy, she chain-smokes and fidgets, while in the comedy she has an ingenue's golden glow. Some of the actors fare better than others — Chloë Sevigny and Chiwetel Ejiofor seem best suited for Mr. Allen's anti-naturalistic approach to acting, while Will Ferrell's shambling geniality make him a poor choice for the inevitable role of Woody Allen surrogate. In any case, the movie is most powerful as an extended piece of real estate pornography, depicting a seductive fantasy New York (though filmed in the real one) where struggling filmmakers and out-of-work actors live in fabulous lofts and labyrinthine prewar apartments. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
![Will Ferrell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/272/272210_9668a8.jpg)
Will Ferrell
USA
Best movies:
The Boys (2019) (series)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Megamind (2010)
Neil Pepe
USA
Best movies:
Magnolia (1999)
Analyze This (1999)
Homicide (1991)
Stephanie Roth Haberle
USA
Best movies:
Philadelphia (1993)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Deception (2008)
![Radha Mitchell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/269/269170_aba643.jpg)
Radha Mitchell
Australia
Best movies:
Phone Booth (2002)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Man on Fire (2004)
![Chloë Sevigny](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/912/164912813_e9560b.jpg)
Chloë Sevigny
USA
Best movies:
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Dogville (2003)
Zodiac (2007)
![Chiwetel Ejiofor](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/166/315/166315976_e6c3e2.jpg)
Chiwetel Ejiofor
UK
Best movies:
American Gangster (2007)
Love Actually (2003)
The Martian (2015)
![Josh Brolin](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/784/162784936_b2d2da.jpg)
Josh Brolin
USA
Best movies:
Dune: Part Two (2024)
American Gangster (2007)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
![Jonny Lee Miller](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/777/162777929_44ad13.jpg)
Jonny Lee Miller
UK
Best movies:
Frankenstein (2011) (theatrical recording)
Trainspotting (1996)
The Covenant (2023)
![Wallace Shawn](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/433/162433399_3c314a.png)
Wallace Shawn
USA
Best movies:
Toy Story (1995)
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Toy Story 2 (1999)
![Larry Pine](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/835/160835935_e52bb6.png)
Larry Pine
USA
Best movies:
Dead Man Walking (1995)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Sunday (1997)
![Arija Bareikis](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/410/410424_f48be8.jpg)
Arija Bareikis
USA
Best movies:
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
The Naked Man (1998)
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
![Zak Orth](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/143/058/143058473_e26b56.jpg)
Zak Orth
USA
Best movies:
John Adams (2008) (series)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
When Trumpets Fade (1998) (TV movie)
![Brooke Smith](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/118/165118199_e5ba7e.jpg)
Brooke Smith
USA
Best movies:
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
The Moderns (1988)
![Daniel Sunjata](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/279/279216_33e81b.jpg)
Daniel Sunjata
USA
Best movies:
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Cyrano de Bergerac (2008) (theatrical recording)
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
![Amanda Peet](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/165/287/165287104_987879.jpg)
Amanda Peet
USA
Best movies:
Identity (2003)
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
The Way Way Back (2013)
![Shalom Harlow](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/271/271830_fbc5f6.jpg)
Shalom Harlow
Canada
Best movies:
Salton Sea (2002)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
![Vinessa Shaw](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/415/162415089_b78d17.jpg)
Vinessa Shaw
USA
Best movies:
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Badland (2007)
![Steve Carell](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/036/164036842_a6c098.jpg)
Steve Carell
USA
Best movies:
Despicable Me (2010)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)
Gene Saks
USA
Best movies:
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
Nobody's Fool (1994)
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)
![Sabrina Lloyd](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/276/276956_3a33eb.jpg)
Sabrina Lloyd
USA
Best movies:
Melinda and Melinda (2004)
The Pretty One (2013)
The Girl from Monday (2005)