Sweet and Lowdown

views updated

Sweet and Lowdown ★★½ 1999 (PG-13)

Slight jazzy comedy, set in the ‘30s, traces the up-and-down career of fictional musician Emmet Ray (Penn), who's haunted by the fact that he's the second-best jazz guitarist in the world (Django Reinhardt is the first). However talented Emmet is musically, he's scum as a human being, abandoning Hattie (Morton), the mute laundress who turns out to be the love of his life in favor of wealthy writer Blanche (Thurman). Fine cast, good look, great music. 95m/C VHS, DVD . Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman, Brian Markinson, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol, Vincent Guastaferro, John Waters, James Urbaniak, Constance Shulman, Kellie Overbey, Michael Sprague, Woody Allen; D: Woody Allen; W: Woody Allen; C: Fei Zhao; M: Dick Hyman.