Like a lot of film buffs, our thoughts upon learning that Woody Allen had taken up with Mia Farrow`s 21-year-old adopted daughter turned to the movie
”Manhattan.” But not for the obvious reason.
That 1979 movie, which Allen wrote, directed and starred in, did indeed include a romance between 42-year-old Isaac, the character played by Allen, and a 17-year-old schoolgirl. But there was an air of innocence about that relationship that is in no way comparable to the real-life situation: a 56-year-old man seducing the daughter of his longtime lover.
Betrayal and moral rot were, however, major themes in ”Manhattan,” and Allen, though never losing his sense of humor, inveighed powerfully against them. In a climactic scene, Isaac confronts his best friend, Yale, who has been sleeping with Isaac`s girlfriend while deceiving his own wife. The two men are standing in a science classroom with a skeleton hanging between them.
”I`m not a saint, OK?” Yale protests.
”You`re too easy on yourself,” Isaac counters.
Yale pleads that he`s just human while Isaac seems to think he`s God.
(”I`ve got to model myself after someone,” Isaac replies.) Finally, gesturing to the skeleton, Isaac asks:
”What are future generations going to think of us? Some day we`re going to be like him. He was probably one of the beautiful people. He was probably dancing and playing tennis and everything. This is what happens to us. You know, it`s very important to have some kind of personal integrity. You know, I`ll be hanging in a classroom one day and I want to make sure that when I
`thin out` that I`m well thought of.”
Isaac may have been true to those sentiments, but, sadly, Allen has not.
