You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is as mystical as its title. You'd usually hear the line when having your palm read in a jocular manner and who better to do it than Woody Allen? The writer-director has discovered a niche for intricate relational comedy dramas with a twist. Whatever Works paired Woody Allen with Larry David as the two concocted a "romance" story about interconnecting relationships and love in all its forms. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger is similar, except darker, representing the tragedy instead of the unpredictable nature of love. The theme of illusions carries some potency as we see couples clashing, using schadenfreude to create a humorous yet unpleasant situational comedy out of fall outs.
You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger follows the lives of two couples, Alfie (Hopkins) and Helena (Jones), and their daughter, Sally (Watts) and her husband Roy (Brolin). Alfie has lost interest in his long time wife, Helena and has sought the excitement offered by a young escort. Helena is devastated, finding solace in the musings of a dubious fortune teller. Sally is fed up with her husband and wants her boss (Banderas) and Roy can't take his eyes off their neighbour in the hopes of discovering a new muse to inspire him to write. Naturally, it all gets quite messy and amusing as soon as things start to backfire.
The drama is underpinned by some Hollywood heavyweights including: Anthony Hopkins, Antonnio Banderas, Naomi Watts, Gemma Jones and Josh Brolin. While they add some charm and experience to the affair, it's not a particularly outstanding outing for any of them. Their dramatic performances add depth but it's the twinkle in the eye that's missing... making the material entertaining, enjoyable but not as quirky or funny as Whatever Works. Perhaps it was Larry David who provided the momentum for Whatever Works or maybe it's the series of unfortunate events in You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger that douses the sparkle.
Woody Allen is a talented screenwriter, who manages to swathe his audience in a blanket of intrigue. People are interesting and Allen uses the characters to create a fascinating study of human behaviour. There's a deep respect for the soul, what makes us tick and what makes us love. Humanity and the many complexities of our condition are what inspires this writer and his whimsical tales are always fascinating purely in terms of human interest. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger toys with people and their expectations in love as two married couples go on a journey of self-discovery, realising like Aesop's dog with a bone - they had it good.
The bottom line: Entertaining.
