Getting Away With Murder: The Film Noir World of Woody Allen

Bryan Mead

Northern Illinois University, USA

Abstract

Although normally utilizing parody and humor when dealing with film noir, Woody Allen has made two films that deal more directly with the style and themes of classical noir cinema: Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) and Match Point (2005).  Both films differ from classical film noir, however, in the protagonist’s ability to enter into the criminal underworld and return unscathed by the experience.  Whereas classical noir protagonists are isolated and unable to enter (or re-enter) everyday society, the protagonists in Allen’s films are able to do so, moving the focus of these films from an existentialist “fate” of the classical noir to an individualized morality based on choice and reason.  This essay examines the noir elements of both Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point in an effort to expand current academic understanding of Woody Allen’s film oeuvre.

Keywords: Woody Allen, film noir, existentialism, film, film studies, noir, Match Point, Crimes and Misdemeanors