Arts: Trailer Critic on Woody Allen?s To Rome With Love

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Brow Beat Trailer Critic: Woody Allen's  To Rome With Love By David Haglund Posted Tuesday, Apr 03, 2012, at 06:45 PM ET For the last several years, Woody Allen has been creating a series of cinematic postcards; every year or two he sends another one from some major European capital. He sent a few from London, one from Barcelona, another from Paris, and now we have the glimpse at his next missive, To Rome With Love. I found Midnight in Paris charming, if slight; Match Point engaging, if slight; Vicky Cristina Barcelona fun, if slight. Which is fine: As the critic Richard Brody has argued in defense of the later Allen, the great writer-director is basically sketching at this point. But a few of his later movies have been worse than slight; some have been nearly unwatchable. Where will To Rome with Love fit in Allen's oeuvre? The trailer does not suggest an encouraging answer. Yes, it looks beautiful, in keeping with the picture-postcard appearance of Allen's "European period." And the cast is typically excellent, full of intriguing newcomers to the world of Woody—Alec Baldwin, Greta Gerwig, Jesse Eisenberg—and some very welcome return visitors, including Judy Davis and Penelope Cruz. Roberto Benigni gives one pause, but seems well-used here; Ellen Page, on the other hand, appears miscast as a character whom men are drawn to "because of the sexual vibe that she gives off." (Page, a good and of course very attractive actress, does not have an especially erotic screen presence.) The intriguingly sexual and mysterious woman is a stock figure from Woody Allen movies, not particularly to ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Spitzer: It's Way Too Soon for Conservatives To Gloat About Obamacare's Tough Week in Court The Real Reason Some Indian Parents Marry Off Extremely Young Girls The National Weather Service Is Finally Making Tornado Warnings as Scary as They Should Be	Advertisement
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