Allen fans sure to love 'Whatever Works'

Director: Woody Allen

Cast: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson

Cert: 15

Allen, having detoured to London and Barcelona, returns to his more familiar Manhattan – and to a script updated, slightly, from the 1970s – for another journey into the cynically funny side of life, full of his trademark quips and asides and monologues straight to camera … Allen fans will, of course, love it.

David plays Boris, an Allen alter-ego, who retains a downbeat, bitter feeling for life and the world. Everything in Boris’s life is going to hell in a handcart fast.

Into this life comes, from nowhere, Southern cutie Melody (a wonderful contribution from Wood), who simply turns up and moves in.

Could life be turning sunny for Boris?

In an aside, Boris tells the audience that the story isn’t about feeling good, so you know what to expect.

When Melody’s mother – the magnificent Clarkson – turns up in search of her runaway daughter things turn … well, Allenesque.

It has had mixed critical reviews but it’s still a Woody Allen film and much welcomed.

Star Rating: 4/5