Deconstructing Harry
1997 Directed by Woody Allen
Synopsis
This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him as a result.
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"I think you're the opposite of a paranoid. I think you go around with the insane delusion that people like you."
Deconstructing Harry is the story of Harry Block, a writer who "can't function well in life but can in art", and blurs the line between his reality and his fictional creations (sometimes literally).
With hilarious dialogue, rich in one-liners, and various comedic asides and set-pieces (a scene with psychiatrist Kirstie Alley being a particular highlight for me), the film's style, tone and characterisation made it work for me as a perfect companion piece to Annie Hall. It felt like I was catching up with Alvy Singer a few years down the line, which of course in turn feels like…
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In this one, Woody is haunted and guided by characters from his past works, as he struggles with stabilizing his real life and a writer's block.
Even though he's going over several used themes and characters, Woody gives "Deconstructing Harry" an extra oomph by being extra vulgar and unsympathetic. Self-deprecating humor is all over the place, and sometimes it's actually kind of sad if you stop to think about how he's just using his own misery for comedy gold, much like the character he plays uses his friends to depict characters in his work, and ultimately alienates them.
His real life neurosis really comes through in this, as his character never seems to be happy, even with his own work, and the fucked up editing adds to the uneasy atmosphere. This is self loathing cinema at it's finest.
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Off-putting first 10 minutes, but once you get into the swing of it (think of it like a demented Annie Hall) it's entertaining in its own right.
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Brilliant, acid and often hilarious, Deconstructing Harry is a true inspiration for the further writer's block stories in which reality and fantasy are bound by the main character's mind, something that is actually a self-conscious analysis of Allen's career itself.
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Harry Block is my hero. No further notes.
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Well, this was very funny. I need to watch it again in order to make a proper review, but it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. In a good way. I enjoyed this very much.
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As funny as Woody always is, but something's just off-kilter with this one. Still a worthwhile film.
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Hilarious, fast paced, well written. In short, everything I adore about Woody Allen films.
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"I think you're the opposite of a paranoid. I think you go around with the insane delusion that people like you."
Deconstructing Harry is the story of Harry Block, a writer who "can't function well in life but can in art", and blurs the line between his reality and his fictional creations (sometimes literally).
With hilarious dialogue, rich in one-liners, and various comedic asides and set-pieces (a scene with psychiatrist Kirstie Alley being a particular highlight for me), the film's style, tone and characterisation made it work for me as a perfect companion piece to Annie Hall. It felt like I was catching up with Alvy Singer a few years down the line, which of course in turn feels like…
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"Our lives consist of how we choose to distort [them]".
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The idea of the film, mixing characters with reality, is an interesting angle from which to examine the life of the writer. The film's bleak perspective on its lead character's ability to get beyond his own immature desires brings a heavy note of sadness to proceedings that are otherwise often funny. The film therefore carries something of a negative wisdom, a comic "what not to do with your life" for the educated and erudite.
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Brilliant, acid and often hilarious, Deconstructing Harry is a true inspiration for the further writer's block stories in which reality and fantasy are bound by the main character's mind, something that is actually a self-conscious analysis of Allen's career itself.
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really good