"You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"

This, the most recent of Woody Allen's inimitable contributions to film making, seems too true to life for comfort! I think that Gemma Jones, playing Helena Shipridge, steals the show, surrounded by a great cast including Sir Anthony Hopkins, who, of course, can do no wrong as an actor. But certainly as Helena's husband, Alfie, he makes some pathetic mistakes, which he lives to regret. Narrated by Matt Damon, we get to see into the lives of three couples, and observe their all too human foibles. Pauline Collins perfectly plays the part of Cristal, the psychic in whom Helena has absolute faith. (Although, it would seem Cristal is, perhaps really a charlatan, but hey, she gives Helena hope for a better life and a future, even if it's not in this lifetime.) I found a couple of the performances annoyingly too over the top -- but maybe that was intentional? i.e. Charmaine, the young "actress" call-girl that Alfie marries (Lucy Punch) (after his divorce from Helena), trying to recapture his youth. And the dialogue by Naomi Watts, as Sally, when she finally confronts her mother (Helena), seemed a bit too much. I was starting to feel disappointed in Josh Brolin-- (after his great acting in "Wall Street..." ) because he just didn't seem right playing an unsuccessful writer, the husband of Sally, but then came a surprising plot twist (I won't reveal the spoiler) and he redeemed himself as an actor in my eyes. All in all, this film is worth seeing, but I only want to give it THREE STARS, because it's, well, kind of depressing because it is probably too accurate in portraying how people let their emotions rule their lives. Is everyone really this neurotic? Sigh. SP