Shadows and Fog (1991)

Shadows and Fog

Call No: TEMP 1706

Many consider Woody Allen to be one of the great filmmakers of our time. This makes me wonder why I haven’t seen very much of his work, considering how much I enjoy watching the styles and direction of any number of filmmakers. The first and only movie that I’d seen of his (until now) was The Purple Rose of Cairo, and the only reason for that was because (a) it was about the love of movies and (b) I needed a fifth movie for a blowout sale at the CNE. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, so when one of my housemates told me that she would be watching Shadows and Fog, I tagged along for the visual ride.

Somewhere in the mist and fog of the night hides a killer, and timid bookkeeper Kleinman has been dragged out by a team of vigilantes to help in the hunt. On the other side of town, Irmy leaves her cheating boyfriend Paul and the circus she calls home to find something better. Soon these two strangers will meet in the shadows and hopefully find a way to help each other with their problems. But they had better hurry, because when you spend any time in the fog, the killer can’t be far behind.

The film isn’t as mysterious as I thought it was going to be. I didn’t know much about the film, but when I understood the set-up, I saw it going any number of ways. The way it did end up going wasn’t the way I had in mind, but it didn’t make it a bad film. Woody Allen, from what I’ve seen, doesn’t enjoy making cookie-cutter, happily-ever-after type movies. He wants to make you feel and make you think, and this film does both. He’s exceptionally good at bringing up the possibility of hope and then removing it, but never through unfair circumstances. If he removes any hope and happiness, or implements any hope and happiness, it’s always through the human condition, through human actions. Allen favourite and ex, Mia Farrow, is usually his vehicle of choice for carrying out this kind of conclusion. In The Purple Rose of Cairo, reality and human nature determine the unwavering course of fate. In Shadows and Fog, Farrow’s own human actions shape her future. I found her character to be stronger in this film than in its predecessor. Her role here really allows her to showcase her abilities as an actress.

Allen and Farrow worked well together before they ex'd.

Another aspect of the film I liked was the number of actors and actresses in it. It seems that every time there’s word that Woody Allen is working on a movie, people are fighting and cannonballing themselves over studio walls to get a piece of the action. If anything I would think that it speaks highly of Allen as a director, if not as a writer as well. This film is full of familiar faces and voices, including Kathy Bates, John Cusack, William H. Macy, Madonna, John Malkovich, Lily Tomlin, John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, David Odgen Stiers, and Wallace Shawn. You can even catch a rare film appearance of Julie Kavner, most widely known for her role as Marge Simpson (and also frequent favourite of Woody Allen, having done seven films together under Allen’s direction).

Because my housemate was looking at the film from a religious and philosophical standpoint, there was a great deal of material that could be discussed. In terms of the writing (something I always admire), I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the film was exceptionally well written and had some very interesting characters. Even though you don’t get to know some of them very well or for very long, Woody Allen does a great job of conveying who they are and what they’re about in intriguing and interesting ways. I’m definitely going to be spending part of the summer educating myself on some more Woody Allen material. That much is certain.