Russian gentleman: So who is to say what is moral?
Sonja: Morality is subjective.
Russian gentleman: Subjectivity is objective.
Sonja: Moral notions imply attributes to substances which exist only in relational duality.
Russian gentleman: Not as an essential extension of ontological existence.
Sonja: Can we not talk about sex so much?
What do you get when you combine Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Russian literature, and the Marx Brothers? You get the movie Love and Death, a delightful surreal meditation on death. And wheat.
I’ve always been a fan of this particular Woody Allen film, mostly because it is Woody at his most absurd. I reference the Marx Brothers quite deliberately, as the movie as written could have easily starred those great comics with very little rework. Woody, in scene after scene, is clearly playing the Groucho part, commenting on the action as it happens…. and Groucho’s attitude combined with Woody’s nebish sensibilities makes the movie absolutely hysterical.
Equally funny, and pulling her weight in equal measure to Woody, is Diane Keaton. She is just fantastic here, playing Sonja, someone who isn’t far removed from Woody’s when it comes to attitude and characterisation (and if there’s any criticism to be made of this movie it is that you can exchange Woody and Diane’s dialogue in most scenes and it wouldn’t make a difference – they’re basically the same character). Her existential ramblings and philiosophical dissertaions are delivered with aplomb, and she makes the most of the material she is given.
Two other performances are noteworthy: James Tolkan as Napoleon is quite good, as he races to create the Napoleon pastry to counter the rumored Beef Wellington (Tolkan is best known as Strickland form the Back to the Future films). Second, Harold Gould plays a jealous lover who challenges Woody to a duel, and is terrific in every scene.
As per the plot… well, it’s just an excuse to tell jokes, really… which is not a bad thing at all. The movie is clearly structured to amuse first, and make sense second, and that’s fine by me. It’s also a movie that rewards anyone who has a deep knowledge of Russian literature and Bergman films… it’s a comedic response to Bergman that will have a more serious “sequel” in Woody’s later film Stardust Memories.
At any rate, if you haven’t seen Love and Death, do so… and if you don’t get all the references, crack open a book more often.
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