Film Review: Deconstructing Harry

 "Deconstructing Harry"

**** (out of ****)

With very few exceptions has there been a filmmaker - comedy or otherwise - that has been more closely associated with his screen persona than Woody Allen? In "Deconstructing Harry" (1997) Allen blurs the lines between fact and fiction, fantasy and reality even further. It's what makes "Harry" one of  Allen's comedy masterpieces and the reason I chose it as one of the best films of 1997. During the year of Was I Right? - my year long re-examination of films I placed on previous "top ten" lists to determine if I was right to choose them - I thought now would be a perfect time to revisit the film. 

Allen plays novelist Harry Block, whose latest work of fiction exposes his several extramarital affairs. Besides perhaps shaming himself it also effects the lives of the others involved. In the opening moments of the film Lucy (Judy Davis) storms into Harry's apartment to angrily confront him. The two had an affair when Harry was married to Lucy's sister. Now with their secret out, Lucy's husband has left her. Enraged, she plans for revenge, which consists of killing Harry - "you take everyone's suffering and turn it into gold." she says before taking out her gun. And even within this heightened exchange Allen is able to find the humor in the situation as Harry and Lucy confuse the real life names with the fictional ones, such as Harry's ex-wife Jane (Amy Irving) and her fictitious version, Janet (Stephanie Roth).

Right at the start of "Deconstructing Harry" the film is hitting at the themes the rest of the film will center on - does life imitate art? Can a great artist still be a lousy person? The latter reflects public opinion of Allen at the time. The film was released a few years after  Allen and Mia Farrow's very public breakup that resulted in his marrying Farrow's stepdaughter, Soon-Yi Previn (the famed pianist and conductor Andre Previn was her stepfather). Never a truly beloved national figure the scandal nevertheless affected the public's perception of Allen with many misleading accusations being hurled at him such as he married his daughter, even though such a thing is against the law. That's what gives "Deconstructing Harry" its bite. Since many people often try to interpret Allen's films as justification for his life choices, "Harry" argues artists don't have to be nice people. There is a separation between art and the artist. It is a concept Allen explored prior in "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994) and would further examine in "Sweet and Lowdown" (1999).

As the film goes on we learn Harry divorced Jane but not to be with Lucy. He had instead fallen in love with a younger woman named Fay (Elisabeth Shue), who was a fan of his writing. However karma caught up with Harry when Fay dumped him for his friend Larry (Billy Crystal). Next there was Harry's second wife, Joan (Kirstie Alley) whom he cheated on after the birth of their son Hilly (Eric Lloyd). And finally there is Harry's sister, Doris (Caroline Aaron). They have an estranged relationship after he disapproved of her choice for a husband, Burt (Eric Bogosian), whom Harry believes is a religious zealot and has negatively influenced Doris into becoming one too.

These stories will be contrasted with their fictionalized versions (played by different actors including Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci, Richard Benjamin, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus) illustrating not only how Harry's life turns up in his art, which he uses to vindicate his beliefs, but his carelessness in the way he doesn't bother to even disguise the identity of the real life people involved. All of these individuals are displeased with Harry's interpretation of them and his description of events.

But  Allen takes things one step further. Not only do we see what Harry has written in his novels, those same fictional characters appear face to face with Harry, providing him with life lessons, showing him the error of his ways. It may recall what  Allen did in his later film, "Midnight in Paris" (2011)  where a young writer is transported back in time to meet his literary idols, while they help him with his own work.

The structure of the film is reminiscent to Ingmar Bergman's - one of Allen's cinematic heroes - "Wild Strawberries" (1959), the story of an aging professor who travels back home to be honored by his old university. In "Deconstructing Harry", Harry will also be honored by his old university for his literary accomplishments. Both men learn about how others view them and are confronted by their mistakes. In "Strawberries" the events serves as a moment for the professor to redeem himself. Harry on the other hand I'm not positive learns anything. In Eric Lax's book, Conversations with Woody Allen, Allen doesn't cite Bergman's film as an inspiration. He describes simply conceiving the idea as "you watch the guy and learn about him, but learn about him through what he wrote. You'd see his short stories and excerpts from his novels and that would tell you about him." Allen also goes on to claim the film is not based on his life, "I think that is funny because the film's not remotely about me." It should be noted though that  Allen has always been reluctant to reveal what in his films are autobiographical.

The format of "Deconstructing Harry" is also episodic which allows  Allen the opportunity to really pepper his film with very funny skits that otherwise wouldn't be strong enough to be developed into feature length ideas. Two such skits really standout with one centered around a young man (Tobey Maguire) who cheats on his wife with a prostitute. Unable to afford a hotel room he uses a friend's apartment, resulting in a hilarious mix-up. The other skit is about an actor (Robin Williams) who is literally out of focus, causing major disruptions on the movie set and in his personal life. Making it a perfect symbol of Woody Allen the man and his alter ego Harry.

This material rates with some of the funniest  Allen had put on-screen in many years. Some of its silliness, surreal, and ethnic (Jewish) nature recalls Allen's work from the 1970s, which some would consider his greatest creative period. Although I contend, controversies and all, the 90s was an equally successful decade. When I saw "Harry" opening day (on Christmas) in theaters, I was only 14 years old and yet I don't remember ever laughing so hard at a movie, including one of Allen's, as I did at this. Granted I was already a devoted follower. I wasn't alone however in that feeling. Former  late and great Chicago Tribune critic Michael  Wilmington referred to "Harry" as "one of the funniest (and maybe bravest) pieces he's ever done".

While this may sound terrible to say, what makes "Deconstructing Harry" so enjoyable is that  Allen isn't making his usual commentaries on the meaning of life or does God exist a la "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989) or "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986). The purpose of "Harry" is strictly to be funny. The Allen we see here is the hand gesturing maestro, the neurotic, stammering, wise-cracking working class lovable loser of "Broadway Danny Rose" (1984) or "Bananas" (1971). This results in the film having aged better than some of Allen's other comedies since it lacks a political or societal message. "Annie Hall" (1977) is unmistakably the '70s. "Deconstructing  Harry" could be of any time. Though there is one joke about a President's sexual appetite that will be lost on today's viewers. You must remember Bill Clinton was President at the time.

Yet there is much in "Deconstructing Harry" that makes it typical of what a Woody  Allen comedy used to be. The film is full of characters with neuroses and in dysfunctional relationships. Harry in particular is full of insecurities and in passing mentions a fear of dying - a standard fear of  Allen's characters - and even finds a way to name drop Sophocles. In many ways Harry may be the most complete character  Allen had written for himself in years. It could possibly be as quintessential a "Woody Allen" character as Alvy Singer was from "Annie Hall". Namely because both are based on the public's perception of him.

If Harry is the best written character it would also be because he is the one constant in the film. "Deconstructing Harry" is an ensemble piece but unlike "Crimes and Misdemeanors" or "Hannah", "Harry" doesn't have a cast of strong characters. During this period in Allen's films the large cast was kind of comprised of the equivalent of cameos. Big stars would come in shoot there sequence and be gone. If anyone else makes an impression in "Harry" it might be Judy Davis. Her opening scene with Allen is magnificent, demonstrating her intense, dramatic capabilities. And in a later scene she is allowed to show off a much lighter, comedic tone. No one else to my mind is given as equal an opportunity to shine to the degree Davis does.

Visually the film is unlike many of  Allen's previous films due to its editing. Allen copies the same techniques he applied to "Husbands and Wives" (1992) - though the aesthetic is much more conventional here - with its shaky camera work and jump cuts. In "Husbands" this was meant to invoke a naturalistic documentary feel. This time around I believe it is meant to suggest the chaotic personality of Harry. For example the film begins with the usual title credits Allen's films have become known for but this time there are cutaways to same repeated image of Lucy exiting a taxi, while we hear Annie Ross sing Twisted. This may be Allen's way of paying homage to another filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard.

When the film was released Allen was 62 years old and yet "Harry" has a savage wit and rawness you may not identify with an older filmmaker. The humor is a lot more vulgar than we are used to from Allen, though at this particular period in his career Allen was tip toeing in this direction with films like "Mighty Aphrodite" (1995), "Celebrity" (1998), and "Husbands and Wives". Its frankness and energy is probably why the former Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert described it as "his most revealing film, his most painful, and if it also contains more than his usual quotient of big laughs, what was it the man said? "We laugh, that we may not cry."

But of course as with any Allen film there are always detractors such as the "movie critic" Jonathan Rosenbaum who in his Chicago Reader review stated, "this runs a close second to September as his worst feature to date". Which has led me to always wonder, while we ask how much of Allen is in his characters, how much of a "critic's" personal contempt for  Allen is in their reviews? It wouldn't be hard to imagine many of them felt insulted by  Allen and his attacks aimed at them. In one terrific sequence taking place in hell, Harry is in an elevator with each floor being called out. One of them has been designated for media but it's all filled up!

And yet despite mixed reviews "Deconstructing Harry" earned one Academy Award nomination for Allen's screenplay, making it his than 13th nomination in the category. It was also named as one of the year's best films by the great New York Times critic Janet Maslin who wrote, "Mr. Allen wins no popularity contests here but delivers a structurally sophisticated, newly imaginative recapitulation of his own most personal work." As well as appearing on New York Press "critic" Godfrey Cheshire's list of the year's best films.

As I began brainstorming titles by  Allen that I could have included as part of Was I Right? I had a few options as I have celebrated many of his films over the years. Watching "Deconstructing Harry" though a couple of thoughts dawned on me. One is I almost forgot the joy of seeing Woody Allen in his movies. His presence added not just humor but contributed to the idea of what a "Woody Allen movie" was. He was the film. I'd forgotten the ritual of once a year going to a movie theater to see Allen on-screen. "Harry" really shows us what we have been deprived off all of these years. Allen's last role in one of his films was "To Rome With Love" (2012). Which led me to my second observation, there is probably an entire generation that doesn't identify Allen with acting in his movies. They also wouldn't even realize a Woody Allen film, at one time, meant a "New York comedy". That concept is completely loss on Gen Z. Allen's latest film for example, "Coup de Chance" (2024) was filmed in France and is his first non-English language film.

To answer the question of whether I was right or not about "Deconstructing Harry", the answer is a resounding yes! This is such a comfort to me especially after having the slightly disappointing experience of rewatching "The Ice Storm" (1997), which I initially called the very best film of 1997. On a second viewing it didn't hold up for me during the year of Was I Right?.

"Harry" is still able to pack a punch, remaining as fresh and bold as it did back in 1997. I still believe it remains one of the best films released that year. "Deconstructing Harry" stands as one of Allen's great comedies and reminded me of what a Woody Allen film used to be.