- Sweet and Lowdown
Infobox_Film
name = Sweet and Lowdown
image_size = 200px
caption =original movie poster
director =Woody Allen
writer =Woody Allen
starring =Sean Penn Samantha Morton Anthony LaPaglia Uma Thurman
producer =Jean Doumanian
editing =Alisa Lepselter
distributor=Sony Pictures Classics
budget =
released =4 September 1999
runtime = 95 min.
language = English
imdb_id = 0158371|"Sweet and Lowdown" is a 1999 film written and directed by
Woody Allen which tells the story of a (fictional) arrogant, obnoxious, alcoholicjazz guitar ist named Emmett Ray (played bySean Penn ) who may be the best guitarist in the world. (Or second, if you count his idol,Django Reinhardt .) The film also starsUma Thurman ,Anthony LaPaglia , andSamantha Morton as Hattie, a lovable young mute girl. Allen appears briefly as himself, being interviewed about Ray's music. The film, loosely based onFederico Fellini 's film "La strada", was one of Allen's most well-received dramatic films.cite web | url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sweet_and_lowdown/ | title = Sweet and Lowdown | publisher = RottenTomatoes.com | accessdate = 2007-01-23]Production history
Hot off his 1969 directing debut "
Take the Money and Run ", Allen signed a contract to direct a series of films withUnited Artists . Told to "write what you want to write," Allen wrote "The Jazz Baby", a dramatic screenplay about a jazz musician set in the thirties. 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.'"Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 36-7.] Allen went along with United Artists, writing and directing "Bananas" instead. In 1995, he dismissed "The Jazz Baby" as having been "probably too ambitious."Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 36-7.]In 1998, Allen returned to the project, rewriting the script and dubbing it "Sweet and Lowdown". In the role of Emmet Ray, a jazz guitarist whom Allen had originally planned to play himself, the director cast
Sean Penn . (Allen also consideredJohnny Depp , but the actor was busy at the time.)Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 347-56.] Though Allen was initially wary of working with Penn, having heard that he was difficult, he later said that "I had no problem with him whatsoever....He gave it his all and took direction and made contributions himself... a tremendous actor."Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 347-56.]Allen's use of Penn (and Morton) paid off when "Sweet and Lowdown" was nominated for
Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Sean Penn) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Samantha Morton). Morton's nomination was especially notable, considering the fact that she doesn't utter a single word of dialogue in the film. Allen has said that he told Morton to "play the part likeHarpo Marx . And she said, 'Who isHarpo Marx ?' and I realized how young she was. Then I told her about him [and] she went back and saw the films."Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 347-56.] In addition to her Oscar nomination, Morton's performance was met with critical acclaim, withSalon.com critic Stephanie Zacharek saying that she "quietly explodes [the movie] ....Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years."cite web | url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sweet_and_lowdown/ | title = Sweet and Lowdown | publisher = RottenTomatoes.com | accessdate = 2007-01-23]"Sweet and Lowdown" was filmed entirely in
New York but set in the Chicago area and California.Bjorkman, Stig, ed. "Woody Allen on Woody Allen: Revised Edition". London: Faber and Faber, 1995, 2004. p. 347-56.]Music
The music for the film was arranged and conducted by
Dick Hyman . All of the guitar solos are played by guitaristHoward Alden . Alden also coachedSean Penn on playing the guitar for his role in the film.Trivia
*Sound bites from the film were utilized in the song "The Strange Famous Mullet Remover", written by white rapper
Sage Francis off his albumPersonal Journals .External links
*imdb title|id=0158371|title=Sweet and Lowdown
References
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