Sweet and Lowdown

Sweet and Lowdown is a 1999 American comedy-drama mockumentary written and directed by Woody Allen. Loosely based on Federico Fellini's film La Strada,[1] the film tells the story of jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (played by Sean Penn) who falls in love with mute laundress Hattie (Samantha Morton). Like several of Allen's other films (e.g., Zelig), the film is occasionally interrupted by interviews with critics and biographers like Allen, Nat Hentoff, Daniel Okrent, and Douglas McGrath, who comment on the film's plot as if the characters were real-life people.

For the 1944 Benny Goodman film, see Sweet and Low-Down. For the Dave Van Ronk album, see Sweet & Lowdown.
Sweet and Lowdown
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWoody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Produced byJean Doumanian
Starring
CinematographyZhao Fei
Edited byAlisa Lepselter
Production
company
Sweetland Films
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release date
  • September 3, 1999 (1999-09-03)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4,197,015

The film received generally positive reviews upon release,[2] with Penn and Morton receiving Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Plot

Emmet Ray is a jazz guitarist who achieved some acclaim in the 1930s with a handful of recordings for RCA Victor, but faded from public view under mysterious circumstances. Although he is a talented musician, Ray's personal life fell into shambles after his disappearance from public view. He's often late or even absent for performances with his quintet due to heavy drinking. He spends extravagantly, and is a womanizer and a pimp. When he's not playing music or pursuing women, he shoots rats at garbage dumps and watches passing trains.

Ray idolizes famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, so much so that he's said to have fled a nightclub performance with severe stage fright upon hearing a false rumor that Reinhardt was in the audience.

On a double date with his drummer, Ray meets Hattie, a shy, mute laundress. After overcoming initial frustration due to communication difficulties, Ray and Hattie form an affectionate and close relationship. However, Ray is convinced that a musician of his stature should never settle down with one woman. Because of this, Ray marries socialite Blanche Williams. But Williams sees Ray as a colorful example of lower-class life and a source of inspiration for her literary writing. During their marriage, Ray is tormented by nightmares and shouts out Hattie's name in his sleep.

When Williams cheats on Ray with mobster Al Torrio, Ray leaves her and finds Hattie. He assumes that she will take him back, but discovers that she is happily married and raising a family. Ray is despondent, and laments that leaving Hattie was a mistake. Woody Allen and the rest of the documentary experts remark that Ray's final compositions were legendary, finally reaching the quality of Reinhardt's.

Cast

Production

Development

After his 1969 directing debut Take the Money and Run, Allen signed a contract to direct a series of films with United Artists. Told to "write what you want to write," Allen, a clarinetist and avid jazz enthusiast, wrote The Jazz Baby, a drama screenplay about a jazz musician set in the 1930s. Allen said later that the United Artists executives were "stunned ... because they had expected a comedy. [They] were very worried and told me, 'We realize that we signed a contract with you and you can do anything you want. But we want to tell you that we really don't like this.'"[3] Allen went along with United Artists, writing and directing Bananas instead. In 1995, he dismissed The Jazz Baby as having been "probably too ambitious."[3]

In 1998, Allen returned to the project, rewriting the script and changing its name to Sweet and Lowdown. Allen had originally planned to play Ray himself, but eventually cast Sean Penn. Allen also considered Johnny Depp, but Depp was busy at the time.[4] Penn had a reputation for being difficult to work with, but Allen later said, "I had no problem with him whatsoever ... He gave it his all and took direction and made contributions himself ... a tremendous actor."[4]

Allen, in a retrospective, said that he told Samantha Morton to "play [her] part like Harpo Marx. And she said, 'Who is Harpo Marx?' and I realized how young she was. Then I told her about him [and] she went back and saw the films."[4]

Filming

Sweet and Lowdown was filmed entirely in New York and New Jersey[5] but is set in the Chicago area and California. [4]

The film was the first of Allen's that was edited by Alisa Lepselter, who has edited all of Allen's films since. Lepselter succeeded Susan E. Morse, who edited Allen's films for the previous twenty years.

It was also the first of three films where Allen collaborated with Chinese cinematographer Zhao Fei. Allen had first noticed Zhao with his award-winning work on Raise the Red Lantern, some years earlier.

Music

The music for the film was arranged and conducted by Dick Hyman. All of the guitar solos are played by guitarist Howard Alden.

Additional rhythm guitarists were Bucky Pizzarelli and James Chirillo. Chirillo played rhythm guitar on the track "Sweet Georgia Brown." Pizzarelli created all other rhythm tracks.

Soundtrack

Reception

Sweet and Lowdown received generally positive reviews from critics. It currently holds a 77% 'fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 61 reviews, with the consensus: "Critics praise Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown for its charming, light-hearted comedy and quality acting."[2] The film carries a 70 on Metacritic indicating generally favorable reviews.[7]

Morton's performance was met with critical acclaim, with Salon critic Stephanie Zacharek saying that she "quietly explodes [the film] ... Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years."[2]

Awards and nominations

Sweet and Lowdown was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Penn) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Morton).[8] The pair were also nominated for Golden Globe Awards in the acting categories for Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.[9] The film received three nominations from the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay.[10]

In addition, Morton was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards,[11] the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards,[12] the National Society of Film Critics Awards, and for an Empire Award for Best British Actress.[13] At the London Film Critics Circle Awards, Morton won British Supporting Actress of the Year.[14]

References
  1. "Allusions of Grandeur: Sweet and Lowdown". 11 March 2000.
  2. Sweet and Lowdown at Rotten Tomatoes
  3. Bjorkman 2005, p. 36-37.
  4. Bjorkman 2005, p. 347-356.
  5. Davis, Tom (January 2, 2002). "A Place For Troops, Troupes, Hoops: Teaneck Armory Still Vital". The Record. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
  6. Harvey, Adam (2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen. US: Macfarland & Company, Inc. p. 138. ISBN 9780786429684.
  7. Sweet and Lowdown at Metacritic
  8. "2000 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". www.oscars.org. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  9. "Winners & Nominees 2000". www.goldenglobes.com. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  10. "2001, 7th Annual Awards". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  11. ""American Beauty" tops Chicago critics' nominees". Chicago Tribune. January 24, 2000. Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  12. "Los Angeles Film Critics Awards 1999". FilmAffinity. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  13. "Best British Actress". Empire Awards. Archived from the original on June 20, 2002. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  14. "Awards flow for Billy Elliot". 2001-02-15. Retrieved 2022-10-13.

Bibliography
  • Bjorkman, Stig, ed. (2005). Woody Allen on Woody Allen. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0802142030.
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