The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

If you think you don't like Woody Allen films, then give this a try.It's definitely my favourite Allen - and I've seen most of 'em.A warning for the faint-hearted: It's got more swearing than all of Allen's films put together (I'm pretty sure that must be statistically true).It also starts with a crude scene of two characters bonking (*Do people still say 'bonking'?*) in front of the blind grandmother who has no idea what's going on.Vulgar with an amazing script.It's bitter, nasty, sarcastic and hilarious, and makes me laugh out loud at a different point every time I re-watch it.Highly recommended.

Deconstructing Harry is probably Woody Allen's most interesting and controversial film from his troubled 90s period.Coming at the height of turmoil in his personal life, the same year that Deconstructing Harry was released, Allen married Soon Yi Previn and the world was given an insight into their relationship in the rewarding documentary Wild Man Blues (6). Deconstructing Harry sees him slam reality and fiction together, giving (except for one exception) an expletive-free and free-flowing series of fantasy vignettes with jump- cut, foul-mouthed bites of reality. For this reason more than any other it's a film that could upset Allen purists, as his attempt to capture real life sees multiple uses of the word "f***" and even the "c" word coming from Woody's lips on two occasions.Is the film misogynist? Possibly. Woody certainly appears to have anger towards women here, and while the ladies of the night so romantically depicted in the likable-but-bland Mighty Aphrodite (6) are here "whores" and "hookers", there's also more than an element of racial patronage. The adjoinder from an African American prostitute over whether she knows what a black hole is ("Yeah... that's how I make my living") is probably the most repellent line in an Allen film, bar none.Even today Woody is still capable of making watchable films, but they're rarely essential and tend towards the reactionary. Little of his later period has come close to matching the vibrancy and sheer anxiety-based energy of Deconstructing Harry. This is Woody venting his spleen for the masses, and seeming to toy with the "playing himself" questions. It may not be pleasant to watch, but it's never dull.Again, his Jewish fixations can be offensive, though the scenes with his sister and brother-in-law are amongst the funniest in this not quite laugh-a-minute vehicle. I loved the bit where he tells his sister's husband: "I think you're the opposite of paranoid. I think you go around with the insane delusion that people like you". Yeah, most of the jokes at this stage in his career are recycled, but they're given a new take by the level of unsettling acidity contained in this picture. Annie Hall this isn't.The 1990s won't be remembered as a golden age for Allen's work, a period where he was getting more laughs voicing a cartoon ant than in his own movies. Altogether he wrote and directed ten new films, as well as a grating TV movie of his 60s play/film Don't Drink The Water (4). Films like Alice (5), Manhattan Murder Mystery (6) or Shadows and Fog (5) are watchable yet forgettable, the first decade for Allen where the so-so outnumbered the good. Yet there's still some first rate work in his 90s period, with Husbands and Wives (7) treading familiar ground but in subtle new ways. Sweet and Lowdown (7), a biopic of a fictitious jazz musician, brims with invention... though his first musical, Everyone Says I Love You (q.v.) sadly does not.Perhaps most notable in the 90s is the casting of actors to play the "Woody Allen" role, as he was entering his 60s and perhaps straining even his own much-tested formula of "young girl falls for older intellectual". In this regard then Kenneth Brannagh surprisingly does a better job than John Cusack, playing a substitute in the rewarding Celebrity (7), as opposed to Cusack's turn in the jarring Bullets Over Broadway (5). Which brings us back to Deconstructing Harry, as Allen originally had no wish to star in the lead.Deconstructing Harry isn't a pleasant film to watch by any means. It's crass, foul-mouthed and even obnoxious on occasion. But the fragmented, sketchy nature of events and inventive sequences make it an easier viewing experience than an extended narrative. Not only that, but in watching something which appears to be such a personal statement, then it may not be Allen's most likable or accomplished film, but it remains one of the most intriguing.

Harry Block is a successful writer who gets inspiration from people he knows.Everybody doesn't like that.And he has his flaws, like pills and whores.Now his old university is honoring him.Harry wants to take his son Hilly to the ceremony, but his ex-wife Joan says no.But Harry takes him there anyway, as he does take a prostitute named Cookie and a friend called Richard.What a day to remember that will be! Deconstructing Harry is a Woody Allen film from 1997.Woody Allen gives a really great performance in this movie.Luckily he cast himself.No complaints about the rest of the cast either.Kirstie Alley plays the part of Joan, Harry's ex-wife.Billy Crystal, who gets to do next year's Oscars again, plays Larry/The Devil.Lucy Davis is Lucy.Bob Balaban plays Richard.Elisabeth Shue plays Fay.Paul Giamatti is Prof. Abbott.Philip Bosco is Prof. Clark.Mariel Hemingway, who was also in Allen's Manhattan, plays Beth Kramer.Hazelle Goodman is Cookie.Amy Irving is Jane.Eric Lloyd plays Hilly.Now 90-year old Gene Saks plays Harry's Father.Tony Sirico is Policeman at Jail.Then there are some characters that are of Harry's creation.Richard Benjamin plays Ken.Julia Louis-Dreyfus is Leslie.Tobey Maguire plays Harvey Stern.Jennifer Garner is Woman in Elevator.Stanley Tucci is Paul Epstein.Demi Moore plays Helen.Robin Williams is Mel.Julie Kavner is Grace.This is a very fine Woody Allen movie of the 90's.It's often funny.You find yourself most amused, when they're driving with the hooker and doing some car singing.Also out of focus Robin Williams is hilarious.I get seasick just by looking at him.

If Mighty Aphrodite is a nice Woody Allen, then Deconstructing Harry is certainly the pinnacle of his nasty side. Indeed, for non-Woody Allen fans, it would seem difficult to understand how two vastly different films could come from the same mind. Yet, the genius of Allen lays primarily in his writing, able to create and expound upon a brilliant idea of the story of a man who is unable to cope the negative and horrible lifestyle he abides with the successful and insightful writing and art he creates fictionally.This is a difficult film to review as it unfolds itself in a very bipolar manner: cinematically it works on the highest scale with terrific acting, direction, editing and one of Woody's best scripts. Yet, on the other hand, it is quite possibly his meanest and most cynical portrait of humanity. The character of Harry Block (whom no one was willing to play until Allen finally took it himself) is incredibly neurotic, egotistical, nihilistic and narcissistic and Allen takes him to the very end of his rope, almost encouraging us to not feel any sympathy towards him at all. Certainly no one else does; his entire family hates him for the way he vaguely portrays them in his books as cheap stereotypes of their personalities and beliefs. Still, there may be the slightest bit of humanity within this ball of neuroses if only because Woody Allen gives one of his very best performances here.Again, I must praise the large and star-studded cast for carrying much of the heavy material, especially in scenes that would feel out of place in other hands. In particular, Judy Davis, Elisabeth Shue and Bob Balaban are very good. I must also give praise to Billy Crystal who personifies the devil himself in Harry's mind and is evilly funny.I guess this should be recommended but only for serious Woody Allen fans. It convincingly gives an argument for why and how Allen is able to rationalize all the crazy events he has gone through in his life. Personally, I cannot say that I always agree with his worldview. But, he always does have something interesting to say and if he can continue to say it through films like this, then I feel I will be able to sit through them. However, be warned: this is a side of Woody Allen never seen prior and hardly seen since.