"Picking Up The Pieces" is an unusual project for Woody Allen to be involved with: it's one of the very few times in his career where he only stars in a movie without also having written and/or directed it, plus it's set in New Mexico, quite a few states away from his favorite city in the world, New York. He might seem like a fish out of water at first, but he does seem to have written a lot of his own dialogue (I'm assuming that because his lines are considerably funnier than anyone else's - "If the police find all these pieces they might suspect something" or "I confess I killed my wife - but I did it only once!"), and he sneaks in his usual ruminations about death and the afterlife as well. Only Woody could make the character he plays here so human, sympathetic, and funny. The rest of the cast, though distinguished and diverse, are simply not at his level, the direction is shapeless, and the story is thin. But I do appreciate the fact that this black comedy stays black to the end and does not play "nice" to win the audience's approval. ** out of 4.
Review of Picking Up the Pieces
