The Purple Rose of Cairo, a Woody Allen film

Holly Reese

4-21-13

The Purple Rose of Cairo

                    First off, I am one of those people who doesn’t care for Woody Allen films. There is always something about his films that I just don’t care for, so generally I don’t consider myself to be a fan. However, The Purple Rose of Cairo is one of the more tolerable Woody Allen films that I have seen. The comedy is subtle and quirky and though it seemed to move very slowly at times, it was a decent film.

                    While this film isn’t really laugh out loud funny, the humor is apparent throughout. The funniest parts involve the on screen characters after Tom has left the film. The interactions between the theater audiences and the characters abandoned on the screen are funny especially when the movie’s characters are insulting the audience members. Allen invites an interesting concept. When an actor brings a character to life on screen, are they then completely separate from the actor? This film would argue that if an actor so convincingly brings a character to life onscreen, that the character is really alive and no longer attached to the actor. This fantasy is accepted in this movie. Its absurdity is what makes it funny. The theater owners, movie executives, and the actor himself all accept that it is totally possible that a movie character can just walk off of the screen and into real life-- if the actor’s portrayal was convincing enough. It is funny that everyone, most notably Cecilia, can instantly accept that this has happened. Some of the theater patrons were skeptical, but for the most part everyone just agreed that this scenario was possible and could potentially happen again.

                    In my opinion, this film is somewhat like a tribute to all cinema. Cecillia finds refuge from her terrible life in the movie theater watching The Purple Rose of Cairo. This is a literal and metaphorical escape that many people can relate to. It is easy for people (ok, especially women) to fall “in love” with the characters they see in films. Cecilia's husband was mean, drunk, and disgusting so its no wonder she fell for Tom on and off screen. When she finally leaves her husband chooses the “real” actor, Gil, over the movie character, Tom, reality hits her hard when she is left alone in the end. While this would be a very sad time in her life, she resorts to her original escape plan. She returns to a movie theater and gets swept away in a new story. This bittersweet ending really exaggerates the power that movies can have on audiences. I think it is done effectively and I appreciate the point that I believe Allen was trying to make with this film.