Whatever Works

The script in Woody Allen’s hands was not new. It was written in the early 1970s with Zero Mostel in mind for Boris, and it was shelved when Mostel died in 1977. In 2008, facing the prospect of a summer-long actors’ strike, Allen had to start shooting three months early; with no fresh screenplay ready he reached for the old one and changed little beyond the topical references, among them a voice-over nod to Obama. The strike never happened. This was also Allen’s return to New York after four films made in Europe. Larry David hesitated, telling Allen that his work on Curb Your Enthusiasm was improvised and that he had not really played a character before. Allen went so far as to invite him to leave the script and improvise. David did the opposite: he retreated to his trailer between setups and memorised the lines. Boris talks straight to the audience and turns back to it at the close. Sony Pictures Classics handled the American release; the premiere was at the Tribeca Film Festival on 22 April 2009. A good fit if you want a character who notices the camera and answers back, with much of the film leaning on Larry David’s delivery. Not for anyone who will find the wide age gap, framed here as romance, uncomfortable.