Verbrechen und andere Kleinigkeiten

It isn’t the best or funniest Woody, but it’s Allen just how I like him: thoughtful, truthful, apt and with just the right amount of wit and endearingly skeptical cynicism (as strange as that sounds). The fairy tale about the Statue of Liberty and women should be carved in stone. (05.11.2008)

You can find such endings in Hollywood, this is life. The rating is more like 85%, which would mean a remarkable work for any other director, but in the collection of Allen's brilliant gems, Crimes and Misdemeanors unfortunately gets lost easily, and for one reason only. This time, he decided a bit unfortunatelly to divide the serious and light mood into two interconnected storylines, where the humorous one, with Woody's classic neurotic-romantic touch, works, as well as the classic fateful woman, beautifully portrayed, of course, by Mia Farrow, and also the charming Alan Alda in their first collaboration. The problem remains in the serious part, where the director unexpectedly stumbled upon the choice of the actor for the main role - Martin Landau is a good actor, but he disappointed me heavily here, because he overacts and tries to show Judah's emotions too literally. I was rather surprised by how much my beloved Match Point was stealing from that thriller part and yet it is filmed so much better and with more urgency and emphasis. The crimes and misdemeanors, in this regard, don't work too well. (03.03.2007)

In diesem Film gibt es kein Feuerwerk von Witzen oder großartigen Regie-Ideen. Dafür ist Verbrechen und andere Kleinigkeiten sehr intim, menschlich und glaubhaft. Man spürt sehr intensiv, was der Film sagen möchte. Das Leben ist nicht immer lustig. Sehr oft ist es eine richtig niederträchtige Bestie, die Menschen dazu zwingt, Dinge zu tun, die sie immer für unvorstellbar gehalten haben. Das zeigt der Film vor allem an dem Beispiel von zwei sehr unterschiedlichen Männern in verschiedenen Situationen. Einen stellt ausgezeichnet Martin Landau dar und den anderen der Drehbuchautor/Regisseur selbst. Hervorragend war auch Alan Alda, der eine völlig andere Figur als in dem drei Jahre älteren Film Sweet Liberty spielt, wo ihn als Autor der Filmvorlage der Regisseur Michael Cane quält. Und er hat sie anscheinend genossen. (06.06.2013)

A waste of talent. Normally I would have thought that a serious satire containing themes of murder and tragic love would flourish in Allen's hands as much as a futuristic sci-fi or romantic comedy, but the story is full of empty dialogue and descends into a whirlwind of philosophical drivel that doesn't fit the whole at all. I appreciate what Allen is trying to convey, but I’ve never seen him this boring before. And not even all those great actors can change that. 60% (29.06.2014)

Darker Woody Allen is still different. He is a person who turns more towards his inner self and explores the darkness that may exist there. And it's not just his inner self, it's the inner self of all of us. He is still immensely talented and will entertain you. Just in a different way, and maybe you will think about him a little more. (08.02.2016)