A huge favorite of mine, a unique and moving tragicomedy about a writer who fronts for blacklisted writers during the Red Scare. Set in the 50s but done with (at the time) up-to-date '70s fashions. Stars a long pre-scandal Woody Allen, and conducted throughout with his usual nebbishy-but-insouciant tone, but, unusually, not written or directed by him, and also features Zero Mostel in an unforgettable role as a blacklisted entertainer being taken advantage of by uncaring, predatory show biz people.
I really don't have the words to explain what's so great about this movie. It's an incredibly well-written, funny, pointed, sympathetic, stirring, and at moments downright painful look at innocent lives bleakly destroyed by a political frenzy, with a unbelievably strong message. It has one of my favorite closing scenes of any movie ever—although you have to watch all the way through the credits to understand what's so very powerful about it. The fact that this movie exists, you will realize if you sit through the credits, is a reedeeming statement about human spirit. This film, itself, is the good guys, the innocent victims, getting the final word. Literally.
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