Delayed Reaction: Stardust Memories

Premise: A famous filmmakers suffers from creative stagnation while trying to choose between two women.

 

This movie marks a turning point in Woody Allen's filmography. He had his early comedies (Bananas, Sleeper, Love & Death) followed by his most critically adored but less overtly funny films (Annie Hall, Manhattan). Stardust Memories seems to mark when he stops caring about pleasing an audience. Before that, he made them laugh. He got pushback when he tried bringing his audience along for something more serious. Stardust Memories is him venting his frustrations with his own fame and his audience's entitlement. After this movie, he begins his epic run of directing 38 movies over 36 years without skipping a year. His movies started fluctuating in tone and topic more. He didn't worry about making perfect films or pleasing the audience with each one. He often still did please the audience, but he never chased that.

 

I appreciate aspects of Stardust Memories, but I didn't really like it much overall. Despite Allen's claims to the contrary, I read this as him complaining too much about his audience. There's a contempt for his fans and what people appreciate about his movies that rubbed me the wrong way. It's fine to hate your fans. I imagine Chris Nolan and George Lucas sure are exhausted by their fans. There's no need to make a movie about how invasive they are; chastising them for preferring certain movies over others. I also like his comedies better. Pardon me for liking the comedic work of a great comedy writer over, say, a beautiful black and white movie about a 42-year-old dating a 17-year-old. Perhaps if I was in the crowd who prefers Annie Hall over Love & Death, Stardust Memories would speak more to me. I think it undeniably marks the end of 1970s Woody Allen though.

 

I do want to say that I loved seeing Jessica Harper show up in this. I've mainly just seen her in Suspria and small roles in other things. I just like seeing her on screen.

 

Side Thought: It's crazy how much in Woody Allen movies are "If someone tells you who they are, believe them". He just made a movie about dating a 17-year-old. Then this movie has him get in an argument with Charlotte Rampling because she thought he was flirting with her 13-year-old cousin (which he doesn't really deny). In hindsight, the only thing that was actually surprising about Soon-Yi Previn is that she was the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow.

 

Verdict: Weakly Don't Recommend