Review of A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

"A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" is, in my opinion, an improvement over Woody Allen's previous effort, "Stardust Memories", chiefly because Woody seems more sure of himself here; "Stardust Memories" was essentially all about his indecisiveness about whether he wants to make serious or funny films; with "Sex Comedy" he settles down to a strategy: a comedy with serious themes - a strategy that has since become his trademark. This movie has a couple of very funny scenes, but it also examines marital problems, love at first sight, missed opportunities, pragmatism vs. metaphysics, the possibility of an afterlife, etc. Above all, it succeeds in transporting the viewer to a different place and time - it feels like a vacation from the noise of modern cinema. Allen's usually right-on-target instinct about the music and the casting of his movies is in full evidence here, with him and Mia Farrow quickly developing the kind of connection that he only had with Diane Keaton in his previous films; Mary Steenburgen is amazingly lovely as his on-screen wife. But the real stars of this movie may be the beautiful locations where it was filmed, and Gordon Willis' cinematography which memorably captures that beauty. *** out of 4.