Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here.

Again... Quick Draw Capone beats me to the punch with his take on the latest film from Woody Allen. I’ve got a lot to say about it, so I’ll get to that and leave you in Capone’s capable hands...

Hey folks. Capone in Chicago here.

If you didn't look closely, Woody Allen's latest twisted morality tale may bear a striking resemblance to another UK-set Allen drama of late that also featured a handful of good-looking, younger actors and a murder committed more out of desperation than anger or cruelty. Truth be told, it's almost impossible to watch CASSANDRA'S DREAM without recalling Allen's magnificent MATCH POINT. Sure, the social strata that brothers Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell) occupy isn't quite as upper crust as the characters in Match Point, but that almost makes their predicament all the more tense and perilous. Their place in society isn't quite as impenetrable, and if the clues in the murder they commit begin to point to them, they aren't elite enough to be above suspicion. I can enjoy portions of even the least accomplished Allen comedy (especially if he stars in it), but it's his recent dramas that have reinvigorated my interest in and anticipation for each new film.

Ian and Terry are cut from different cloth, but they are still close, and the bond between them seems unbreakable. Even though they can't afford it, they buy a fixer-upper of a boat near the beginning of the film and take her out on the sea for one last moment of serenity before all hell breaks loose in their lives. Ian helps manage their family restaurant, which does alright financially but is never going to make him rich. He has higher ambitions about opening up a chain of hotels in America with a business partner, but for that he needs money. When he meets a stunning young actress (Hayley Awell), his cashflow needs increase all the more. Terry leads a simpler life as an auto mechanic, but a chronic gambling problem puts him in a dangerous amount of debt to the wrong kind of people.

Enter into the picture ridiculously rich Uncle Howard (the glorious Tom Wilkinson), who has always been more than generous with the family. Then again, the family has never been quite this needy. Both nephews spell out their needs (Ian wants enough to invest in the model plan, while Terry's money would go toward clearing his debts), and Howard seems sympathetic, but he wants something in return. A former friend and business associate is about to make life very difficult for Howard, and he needs the man taken out. And it's at this point in the story that Allen's skill as a writer and filmmaker can be most appreciated. The way he handles this particular sequence is kind of great. Standing under a tree with low-hanging branches, the camera circles the conversation on the other side of the branches. At times, you can only see one character or partial glimpses of the actors. The brothers are completely appalled by the proposition, but their loyalty to their uncle keeps them from getting angry. The normally calm and kind Howard begins to lose his composure when they refuse the exchange, and there are very few actors other than Wilkinson who could have handled this material with such perfection.

The boys' money problems don't disappear, and naturally the time comes where they reconsider the offer. Watching McGregor and Farrell plot and carry out the deed is intense, as you can actually see them plant the seeds of their own potential destruction as both moral human beings and loving brothers. We've seen McGregor play this type of cunning character, but that takes nothing away from his performance here. But it's Farrell who really surprised me with what might be the best performance of his career. Terry is a simple man with a simple set of principles, and his guilt is easily manipulated. Ian does it, Uncle Howard does it, but eventually his own overwhelming shame at the crime he's committed overwhelms him. He doesn't talk about God at all in the story, but he acts like a man afraid he's going to hell, and Farrell captures that with such believability that I literally forgot every other role I've seen him in.

Without giving too much away about the way the story plays out, I will say that some may see CASSANDRA'S DREAM as the counterpoint to MATCH POINT (some might even say it acts as an apologist reaction to that film), but it's not that simple. Allen uses the murder as a way to throw a stick of dynamite into the tight-knit family unit that Ian and Terry have. Throughout literature and cinema, stories of the bond between brothers have often been told, but Allen doesn't seem that impressed or convinced of the structural soundness of that connection. He seems to say, look how easily money, women and a killing tear these two men apart. I'm guessing that anyone who simply dismisses Allen at this point in his career hasn't seen that many of his recent films, or they're just lazy thinkers. I'll be the first to admit that 2006's SCOOP wasn't one of his better comedies, but go back two years before that to the hilarious MELINDA AND MELINDA, and you'll remember what fun it is to laugh at New Yorkers (and if you think Josh Brolin's comeback began in 2007, you probably didn't see Melinda and Melinda). Anyone who puts out a new movie every nine to 12 months is bound to have a few clinkers, but that won't stop me from waiting with baited breath for Allen's VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, which is scheduled to come out later this year and stars Javier Bardem, Scarlet Johansson and Penelope Cruz in a love triangle story set in Spain. I haven't got a clue whether it's going to be any good, but I'm going to have the greatest time finding out.

Capone