Melinda And Melinda Review

Hang on, a Woody Allen film without Woody Allen in it? Has the world stopped turning? Have the bears stopped popping into the woods when nature calls? Just what on Earth is going on here? Well this ensemble project takes the Oscar-winner back to what he does best - the examination of complicated relationship between the artistically inclined in New York. "Melinda And Melinda" opens in a swanky bistro where a group of friends are discussing the essence of human drama and whether tragedy or comedy best symbolizes the condition. A story about a woman named Melinda is discussed by two of the guests, as one turns it into a tragedy while the other gives it a comedic twist.

As both series of events unfold, Allen allows various parallels between the stories but Aussie actress Radha Mitchell is the only constant on screen in the lead. As such she's required to give a very emotionally varied performance and she carries it off well but it's perhaps Allen's most ambitious casting that works best as comedian Will Ferrell is a revelation playing an out of work actor whose marriage is heading down the pan in the comedy offering. We always knew he was funny but it turns out he can act too! The rest of the cast - which includes Chloe Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Amanda Peet and Chiwetel Ejiofor - are perfectly adequate although a couple do seem to struggle a bit with Allen's trademark neuroses and quips.

Allen though is on top form and obviously relishes being back on familiar ground. He even manages to work in perhaps one of the best lines of recent years, as Peet's wife is told by her hubby that they don't communicate anymore. Her response? "Of course we communicate, now can we not talk about it?" Pure Woody gold.