Melinda and Melinda

The same story, more or less, told two different ways — as serious drama and as comedy. Though the drama lacks emotional intensity and the comedy lacks funny jokes, Woody Allen interweaves them deftly enough and provides some of the members of his large cast with opportunities to do some crisp, old-fashioned stage-style acting. The link between the two tales is Radha Mitchell, who plays Melinda in both — an unhappy woman who throws the romantic, professional and social lives of a group of articulate Manhattanites into mild turmoil. In the tragedy, she chain-smokes and fidgets, while in the comedy she has an ingenue's golden glow. Some of the actors fare better than others — Chloë Sevigny and Chiwetel Ejiofor seem best suited for Mr. Allen's anti-naturalistic approach to acting, while Will Ferrell's shambling geniality make him a poor choice for the inevitable role of Woody Allen surrogate. In any case, the movie is most powerful as an extended piece of real estate pornography, depicting a seductive fantasy New York (though filmed in the real one) where struggling filmmakers and out-of-work actors live in fabulous lofts and labyrinthine prewar apartments. (official distributor synopsis)