Rent Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
3.6 of 5 from 108 ratings
1h 31min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Bragging to everyone who will listen that he is the world's second greatest jazz player, Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) is cocky, abrasive and brutally honest - standing only in the shadow of his hero - the profoundly passionate musician Django Reinhardt. Things change when Emmet falls in love with the enchanting mute laundress Hattie (Samantha Morton), who manages to capture his heart through her eyes and expressions alone.
- Actors:
- Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Woody Allen, Ben Duncan, Daniel Okrent, Dan Moran, Tony Darrow, Chris Bauer, Constance Shulman, Kellie Overbey, Darryl Alan Reed, Marc Damon Johnson, Ron Cephas Jones, Steve Bargonetti, Benjamin Franklin Brown, James Urbaniak, Vince Giordano, Emme Kemp, Clark Gayton, Marcus McLaurine
- Directors:
- Woody Allen
- Writers:
- Woody Allen
- Studio:
- Columbia Tristar
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Acting Up: British Actresses at the Oscars, Award Winners, Oscar's Two-Time Club, Top 10 Films By Year, Top 10 Films of 1999
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Reviews (1) of Sweet and Lowdown
Classic Woody. - Sweet and Lowdown review by Steve
Woody's last truly great film is a depression era fake comic documentary about a self destructive and egotistical shack-reared jazz guitarist (Sean Penn as Emmet Ray), tortured by being only the second best on his instrument in the world after his hero, Django Reinhardt.
Ray falls in with Hattie (Samantha Morton) a mute working class innocent, and Uma Thurman as a slumming rich girl thinking of turning Ray's demons into a novel. We follow Ray and Hattie from east coast to west, with his legacy discussed by a number of talking head jazz critics.
Sean Penn pulls off a small miracle keeping the mean and self-obsessed musician just the right side of sympathetic. The heart of the film though is Samantha Morton, whose silent rendition as the simple girl who suffers for her unconditional love for Ray is sensational.
The period atmosphere is strong, the script is exceptional and the jazz guitar music excellent (Penn mimes pretty well). But it's Morton's film all the way and her overwhelming, incorruptible dignity and decency breaks your heart. Perhaps the greatest silent performance I've ever seen.
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