Deconstructing Harry

REVIEW
With the most infuriatingly honest, darkest and derisive film of his career, Allen's funny comedy finds the writer-director in new territory as he opens the wounds of his private life in language, situation and character. Woody plays Harry Block, a writer in the throes of crisis with ex-wives, ex-girlfriends, career and conscience. These are themes are presented in such an in-your-face cinematic style and bantered about with uncharacteristic off-color dialogue, that Woody's self-revelatory exploration of an unapologetically immature husband, father and artist will certainly divide even his most loyal fans. The story, which inventively and successfully mixes past and present, and reality and fiction, follows Block as he prepares to accept an award from his alma mater. Unlike his other films, there are no other lead or even supporting characters of substance; Block is the focus and always on center stage. But in brief appearances, Alley as an ex-wife, Davis as a former in-law, Crystal as the Devil, and Williams as a fictional character whose life becomes literally blurred (in a wonderful sequence), stand out among the large, cameo-like all-star cast.