In Crimes and Misdemeanors, Woody Allen knocks a homerun, for those that want to think when they eat popcorn. It is one of my favorite movies of all time and never fails to make me sad and illuminated all at the same time. In this movie, he shows the moral lives of two men, Cliff Stern and Juduh Rosenthal. Highlighting the place of conscience in modern life and humanity.
In the main plot of the movie, the part I will let you watch without much commentary. Judah Rosenthal is griped with guild over the blood on his hands and has to deal with present guilt and a past full of atheist aunts and orthodox fathers. Allen uses flash backs to show Rosenthal’s inner turmoil. His inner dialectic is made visible (which ironically and unknown to alien is a apart of conscience itself.) in Rosenthal’s dilemma. Deep questions about love and meaning are asked contrasted by nihilistic ideas like, Is there a soul? Does god exist? In these moments the movie gets as dark and serious as Bulgarian chocolate yet never looses its charm.
In the story of Cliff Stern, Allen gives us the more common account of conscience. Allen knows that today’s world system is not arbitrary. The structure of culture today rewards those that play the game. It is understood from experience and theory that life the does not reward certain people and gladly rewards those that play by the culture’s rules, and pander to society’s desires. People are forced into a dilemma of guidance. The choices are between a life guided by a modern pragmatism or principle, authenticity or celebrity, convention or commitment (vows).
This is seen in the contrast between Stern and Lester and the love triangle between Stern, Reed and Lester. The contrast between Stern and Lester runs deep. Both are producers both seek to make great movies. Stern is a reflective person with a sense of moral grounding and Lester an egocentric man of little reflection and even less conscience. In Lester and Stern’s interaction the issue of truth is raised in the form of authenticity. The only form of truth honored as a virtue in postmodern society. As the story unfolds, Cliff is forced to compromise and take the job he hates because, let’s face it, money is important. Cliff tries to be “true to himself” and gets fired by his wife’s brother. In this way Stern is depicted as the tragic hero. This is further accented in the Love triangle between Lester, him and Reed, Mia Farrow’s character. Stern is in a bad marriage so when he meets Reed, He must choose the path of cultural convention or marital commitment; he chooses the former, rejecting the dictates of his conscience in going after Reed. Reed must chose also between a man that can further her career (Lester) or a man that cares for her (Stern). She chooses the checkbook, and stern is left holding the bag.
Over all, the story line deals with the domestication of the conscience by modern life. It is clear Allen thinks conscience is dead weight, which we need to get over. Such moral courage (acting on principle to the point of suffering) is much more of a hindrance than a help. We see the role of conscience and understand it to be useless in the real world. The uselessness of conscience is seen in Stern following his conscience and gets fired, and then denying his conscience and justifying it through convention yet his attempted romance is killed before it begins when reed rejects him. Allen’s point seems to be following your heart and things are not all roses and sunshine, life is not like the movies it is not a matter of the good will prosper, but more the cunning and ruthless make out in the end.
What is shown to pay is Being an opportunist (Reed) or a egoistic pragmatist (Lester). Things will go well for you, for your playing the world’s game. Choose a way of the heart and conscience and there is a good chance life will not be rosy but in doing so you live a life that is “true to your self”. Displaying an authenticity that is still held with honor in a postmodern world. Sadly, this authenticity can change by the deeper desires of emotional connection (or is it the lust of a new thrill?) Either way, authenticity is a subjective standard so such “below the belt” urges can freely change moral vision.
In this way, a man who chooses a moral life is at best destined to be the tragic hero. His principle may lead him but only so far, for to remain authentic he had to change his principle to follow his desire. In the end, He loses the girl yet he was true to himself. In Allen’s view the best aspiration of man is the tragic hero.
If we look around we can find such tragic heroes. In the real world such people become rich in regret, deep in depression and hiccupping from a heart full of little betrayals. A great example of this is found in the philosopher, who Stern was doing a documentary on. A man that spent his life plumming the depths of meaning and could articulate such ideas with great beauty, yet ending it all by suicide even though he had it all figured out. So we see, knowing a truth and experiencing the meaningful bliss of a truth are two different things.
For the Christian, God is the sources of ultimate meaning, He is one's ultimate consern, He is the stenth in our moral courage. The soul centered on God is open to life as a sacramental reality, a grace to be enjoyed with gratitude.
For Allen, such meaningful bliss is non-existent but the moral joy of following your heart is real and can carve out a meaningful pleasureful existence from void.
Here are two guided videos for your exploration into this issue.
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