Could Woody Allen be making a film to reflect our current times? Is it possible that one of his usually quite wealthy and well off characters may be forced to live in a rental unit? The times may be changing for the helmer who has spent his last few pictures gallavanting around London ("You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger"), Paris ("Midnight In Paris") and Rome ("To Rome With Love").
With lensing now underway in San Francisco, marking Allen's first film shot on U.S. soil since "Whatever Works," some plot details have emerged about the film. According to NBC Bay City News (via The Film Stage), the untitled movies boasts the following logline: The movie is about a wealthy woman who finds herself broke and in San Francisco, living with her sister and downsizing her life. She eventually meets a man in the Bay Area who could solve her financial problems, but she first needs to discover who she is and, more importantly, accept San Francisco as her home.
But don't think that Woody has gotten all serious on us. The movie is described as a "romantic comedy" as well, but as the writer/director has shown in the past, particularly with some of his very best films, he's able to weave compelling dramatic and thematic material even in the midst of big laughs. But whether or not this is actually drawn from the economic woes the nation has faced or is just a element in a bigger, broader picture, we're guessing it's probably the latter. Allen has never been an "issues" driven filmmaker and we doubt that's gonna start now. But either way, we're eager to see what kind of tone this will take on.
In case you forgot, this one features an extensive and eclectic cast including Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Emerson, Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay and Peter Sarsgaard. No release date yet, but we'd reckon that following the pattern of the past couple years, this will find a summer release next year.
I hope Cate Blanchett is the lead & not just a tiny supporting role.