Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

The two movies that come to mind when I think about Sean Penn and his acting ability are not Mystic River and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. They are Carlito's Way and Sweet & Lowdown. In both of these movies, he immerses himself in the characters, while in most of his other movies, including the art house hits like 21 Grams and Hurly Burly, he plays more or less the same type of person. Sweet and Lowdown has Penn playing a self-absorbed classical guitarist who obsesses over a world-renowned guitarist much in the way Woody Allen obsesses over things in his other movies. Woody himself shows up as a commentator (this, like Zelig, is presented in mock documentary fashion). It is amusing, if slight (and a sign of things to come in 2000-2002, with Small Time Crooks, Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Hollywood Ending). Samantha Morton won a justified Oscar nomination, but Uma Thurman and Gretchen Mol are wasted (Uma got second billing over Sean Penn, and is hardly in the movie!) Not a Woody Allen masterpiece, but fans could do worse.

Fmovies: As Woody Allen said of Sean Penn after working with him on this film "(Sean's) a tremendous actor". And he displays his tremendous talent in playing the role of Emmett Ray, jazz guitarist, a genius at his craft, rather a disastrous dope in all other aspects of his life.

Then there's Samantha Morton who is brilliant in her portrayal of sweet, adorable Hattie, a cute mute young woman whose simple needs and wants, along with her lack of narcissism and inability to spew out mind numbing volumes of bulls+t banter obscure her deep strength and savvy intelligence. Those that value pure, sweet, unassuming kindness will find her irresistibly lovable.

Emmett only really knows one thing, how to play guitar like no one else in the world, with the exception of the one person he idolizes to the point of hysteria: Django Reinhardt. He's obliviously inept at just about everything else in his life, especially his feelings, to the point where he doesn't know real, rare, wonderful love when it's right next to him. Sean is able to make Emmett so very likable, even in his worst of behavior. He excels at what he does best, bringing real human depth and qualities to his craft that exceptionally few actors are or have been capable of doing.

This film is much like the character of Hattie, deceptive in its initial appearance and of a substantially better quality than you may first think. It seems like a light, cute little story largely due to its entertaining presentation and lack of dramatic pretense but there is significant texture and reality to this work of art. Emmett is perhaps the greatest guitar player in America and has so many of the essential ingredients for huge success: drive, ambition, presentation, wardrobe, personality, yet he tends to sabotage himself frequently and never gets the lucky break needed to put him at the top. True he could probably do rather well if he didn't p+ss away such volumes of cash but he never gets the type of success that the best supposedly deserve and is so wrought with money it won't disappear in the most extravagant lifestyles.

Emmett also makes the tragically universal mistake of believing bullsh+t, both his and society's. He thinks the money and possessions and trophy girlfriends are what happiness are all about. His one saving grace is his love and respect for his craft but can this alone keep him from making a disaster of his life? He discovers all too painfully that the beautiful woman with the sophisticated, witty repartee, whom all the other men drool over, has an extremely high price tag of impenetrable, cold blooded narcissism. And though Emmett acts for the most part like a shallow dope, trying to hide and deny that besides being a genius he is a painfully sensitive man in desperate need of sweet, nurturing love, he still makes way too many foolhardy decisions. He is blind to the fact that the women who use sweetness merely as a tool of manipulation are the last thing he, or anyone else with a shred of decency, need or deserve.

This is a great film and story and you can also enjoy a very pretty picture of life in the 1940's while you watch it.

Apparently there was an obscure jazz guitarist named Emmett Ray but even if there wasn't, this is not really a fictionalized account. Certainly not in the sense of capturing the essence of character, love and genius. As he has done so marvelously before and since, Woody Allen masterfully captures an immensely watchable slice of life that most of us will only have an

I loved this. A story of a fictional character, portrayed as documentary, the viewer is drawn in, particularly by the believable performances from all the cast, Samantha Morton and Sean Penn in particular. They both deserved the nominations they received for these roles. Morton especially since she had no words, only expressions, to carry meaning, and she succeeds.

In addition, if you like jazz, there is simply some fantastic music to be heard. Apparently Penn had never played guitar before this movie, and while it is unlikely that he was able to play to this standard, he nevertheless carries off miming very well.

Great music, great film. 10/10

Sweet and Lowdown fmovies. Woody Allen has such control over the story telling tools of cinema that he can do whatever he wants. Mixing "documentary" comments about what is happening with the characters, and straightforward and yet superbly filmed feature sequences, Allen shows once again why he is one of the greatest film directors of our time. Good plot, great performances, skillfully constructed characters, excellent camera work... can you ask for more?

Sean Penn plays Emmett Ray, a little-known jazz guitarist, an eccentric, egocentric genius self-proclaimed as the "greatest guitar player in the country" or the "second greatest guitar player in the world" - because of that gypsy from France, the bane of his life, Django Reinhardt. The story of Sweet and Lowdown is the story of Emmett and the girl he first describes as "the little one with the silly hat," who is also, incidentally, called Hattie. There is something so special and memorable about the chemistry between Hattie and Emmett. Hattie is perfect for Emmett, because she's mute, and therefore he can sound off all day about how great he is, and she's the one person who won't contradict him.

Woody has the knack of making highly watchable movies - and popping them out one a year. There is a continuity across them all, yet they all seem somewhat unique. Sweet and Lowdown stands heads and shoulders above every other film Woody has made since Husbands and Wives. With Sweet and Lowdown, Woody reminds us why we loved him in the first place - yet i'm not sure i can think of another Woody film that's as genuine, beautiful and moving, yet eccentric and funny at the same time. Annie Hall was probably as touching, but with Woody is no actor next to Penn, which i think makes an incredible difference! Penn brings to life a character so eccentric and unbelievable, yet we never doubt him, we never feel he's not a total human being.

Penn's performance is counterbalanced by another equally moving performance by Samantha Morton as Hattie. Often you'll find yourself watching a two-shot with the both of them on screen, and you won't be able to decide which character you're more curious to watch. More often than not, you'll watch Samantha Morton, to see what Hattie is thinking and feeling. An extraordinary job by an extraordinarily talented actress you may have seen as the mother in In America or the pre-cog Agatha in Minority report.

The one fault in the film is Uma Thurman - she is badly miscast and clearly only suited to intentionally hammy fodder like Kill Bill. Her character, Blanche, is great ("Okay, so i slept with him, but i was just researching a book!"), which makes it more the shame that Thurman speaks her line like she thinks this is a cartoon or a Tarantino movie. The audience will only accept the eccentricity of this style if the performances are genuine: she gets an F. She pops the bubble of this movie. When she appears, we suddenly realise its only a movie, and the spell is broken. Nevertheless, she's only in a relatively small portion of the film, and she can't bring down the rest of it.

Sweet and Lowdown has the feeling of telling you a tale, and it spins some great fun yarns about little-known jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Penn and Morton bring to life an incredible couple of characters - two of Woody's best creations. Well designed with nice period costumes and well directed, especially the magestic final crane shot (a reference to La Strada i believe). The story is beautifully punctuated with scintillating jazz music by Dick Hyman and others.

"Come listen," Emmett tells someone at one point, "you'll love this, i'm great."

This is a very enjoyable movie. It has many touches in it that are classic Woody Allen, so it should appeal to his many fans. It is also so strong on the jazz material that it should appeal to jazz afficianados even if they are not Woody Allen fans.

The biographical / documentary styles keep this movie away from Woody's worst excesses (I am a fan, but not a blinkered one)and provide momentum. There are one or two scenes that migrate towards farce, such as the hold-up scene(s) and the "moon seat".

This film is well worth seeing.