Nightmarish reviews for Woody's 'Cassandra's Dream'
Lucky for Woody Allen he's got a sense of humor. Unfortunately, there's nothing to induce a chuckle or a smile in the hatchet reviews of his "Cassandra's Dream" by Hollywood Reporter and Variety after viewing it at the Venice fest.
Hollywood Reporter: "Woody Allen's 'Cassandra's Dream' is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers. As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance."
Variety: "Like a tragic overture played at the wrong tempo and slightly off-key, Woody Allen's London-set 'Cassandra's Dream' sends out more mixed signals than an inebriated telegraphist. On the face of it a "serious Woody," following two brothers embroiled in murder, pic is actually a low-key, bumpy black comedy whose humor stems from the perhaps deliberate awkwardness of the characterizations and dialogue. A relatively easy sit, thanks to energetic perfs by Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell, pic still fails to satisfy fully on any level . . . . Judged as either black comedy or a semi-drama, pic lacks the irony that informs Allen's best movies -- replaced here by a rather condescending attitude toward all the characters.
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