"Whatever Works"- does it really?

Woody Allen's latest movie "Whatever Works" takes place in New York, the first movie to be set in Allen's native Manhattan in five years. Following his European adventures with the tempestuous "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" , the lighthearted "Scoop" and the somewhat formulaic "Matchpoint", the movie is a breath of fresh air which differs from its predecessors. It's easy to watch and is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. The actors work well together and grasp the irony of the undenyingly witty script with finesse and gusto. Disadvantages lie in the obvious stereotypes included in the cast such as the Southern ditsy blonde or the overbearing religious mother turned sexual fiend in the big city. The sometimes predictable interactions between the protagonists also let the film down and this isnt helped by the unoriginal costume choices and weak musical score.

The movie tells the story of cynical Boris Yellnikoff (Lary David), a retired nobel-considered physicist now turned chess teacher, an obsessive compulsive old man who has lost all respect for human beings, humanity and life in general. Socialising he sees as a waste of time, people he deems 'submental cretins' and the life they live as inevitably doomed. Shortly after a failed suicide attempt and following his divorce, Yellnikof meets a young girl who has just runaway from her home in the south. She needs a home, she doesnt know anybody in New York and begs Yellnikof for his couch. Reluctantly, he agrees and a friendship develops between the innocent, naive Melody St Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood) and the misanthrope. She becomes devoted to him in every way, convinced he is a genius and thus everything that comes out of his mouth must be the truth. She becomes his canvas, where his thoughts and negative views on the hopelessness of existence become engrained in her own thought process. It is when the two end up marrying and her parents turn up a year later in Manhattan after having gone on frantic searches looking for their daughter that the plot spices up. The girl becomes a woman, her mother rediscovers her youth, her father questions his own sexuality and of course, new relationships emerge from these individual discoveries in identity.

Despite obvious cliches in plot, the film is uplifting in its concluding statement of hope and accepting differences. Unrealistic it may be, but its encouraging message of embracing the happiness we have and share with our loved one makes for a refreshing and positive cinema experience. Innovative it's not, groundbreaking it ain't either but if you're looking for a light tale which teaches you to accept love in whatever way it is offered to you given it brings you happiness, then Allen's movie will work for you.