Bullets Over Broadway Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Title: Bullets Over Broadway
Year: 1994
Director: Woody Allen
Country: US
Language: English

Woody Allen has a strong knack for hiring talented actresses and leading them to Oscar glory. At the 2014 Academy Awards Cate Blanchette won "Best Actress" for her devastating portrayal in Blue Jasmine. In the 80's, although Mia Farrow starred in more of his films, Diane Wiest was a hot commodity. She won two best supporting actress Oscars, one for Hannah and Her Sisters and another for the current film being reviewed; Bullets Over Broadway. 

 Set in 1920's New York City, this movie tells the story of idealistic young playwright David Shayne (John Cusack). Producer Julian Marx (Jack Warden) finally finds funding for Shayne's project from gangster Nick Valenti (Joe Veterelli). The catch is that Nick's girl friend Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly) gets the part of a psychiatrist, and Olive is a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist as well as being a dreadful actress. Meanwhile Shayne is slowly falling in love with his second actress Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest). 

The amount of films Woody Allen has made about a struggling writer is astounding, yet he always finds a way to make his familiar motif unique. Bullets Over Broadway might have been a routine backstage comedy, if it wasn't for the bodyguard named Cheech (Chazz Palminteri) He pushes the main characters internal struggle to the forefront; does Shayne compromise and become a sell out in order to be successful or stick to his artistic intuition and remain a failure?

What is the artist's responsibility to their art? Must they stay true to their vision? In this a man gets away with artistic murder, is this morally correct? Some, like Woody Allen, argue that an artist "creates his own moral universe". Of course in reality there are men who have done worse (I'm looking at you Roman Polanski)  yet are revered for their genius. Bullets Over Broadway is a relatively light film for such deep philosophical questions, and I suspect that will go over the heads of many viewers, but it's refreshing that this picture is more than just mere "entertainment".

In conclusion, all the actors in Bullets Over Broadway pull off a magnificent performance. I especially loved Jim Broadbent as the man who starts with water, then slowly consumes everything in sight. Woody hasn't pulled off a masterpiece, but it's still quite a work of art.

Praise it! 4/5