STORY STUDY - FILM: "Bullets over Broadway"
It’s the Roaring Twenties, where artists create and producers produce, with the occasional gangland hit that occurs outside the street.
This is the reality of the 1994 film, Bullets over Broadway.
Directed by Woody Allen and written by Allen & Douglas McGrath, the film is about a playwright of two flops, David Shayne, wanting full creative control of his next play, Gods of our Fathers. He is able to achieve that, but there’s one condition: He has to cast an “actress” to play one of the parts. What’s worse, she is the girlfriend of the man funding the play, who also just so happens to be a mob boss.
Bullets is one of Woody Allen’s comedic films that is hardly recognized, compared to something like Annie Hall or Manhattan, despite having been nominated for a multitude of awards, including six Academy Award nominations, and one win for Best Supporting Actress.
For me, I discovered it in one of my college theater classes when my professor showed the entire movie to her class to watch, so my expectations were very low, which is probably why this is my favorite film by Allen as of this post.
I want to say it’s a different kind of film for Allen to make, but it really, REALLY isn’t (films like Interiors and Match Point, however, are). It has all the Woody Allen tropes: a main character that is indecisive (in the beginning), with moments of bizarrely, unrealistic dialogue from everyone (“The world will open to you like a magnificent vagina.) The performances are over-the-top, but I think that was Allen’s intent. In the documentary, um, Woody Allen: A Documentary, he wanted one of his actresses play the role like Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard). For those of you who have not seen Gloria Swanson’s performance as Norma Desmond, yeah, it can get over-the-top.
Maybe it’s the fact that the film revolves around putting on a play, and hijinks ensue (despite the multiple deaths caused by the gangsters.) Any medium with this story, I’ll always give it a chance. I’m sure anyone who just wants to create something can relate.
I make fun of its negatives, but even then, they can get some kind of laughter, based on the awkwardness of it all. And even then, the comedy that the film wants to incite is legitimately funny, though most of it will be from what the characters say, not do.
The theme surrounding the film revolves around “loving the artist vs. loving the man.” In context of the film, one specific woman falls in love with David because of his ability as a writer (which is a lie. As the film goes on, it’s not HIS words or ideas) and the other is his girlfriend, who just loves him for who he is.
It’s a fair point. How many people today are in love with celebrities because of them as people as opposed to their resumes?
For anyone who knows for a fact that Woody Allen is not for you, I won’t say this one will change your mind, it just won’t. However, for anyone new to his works, I’d highly recommend this one to start with before going on to his recognizable ones, especially if you’re a writer, artist, etc. just trying to get through this “dog-eat-dog” world of art and entertainment.
