Greetings again from the darkness. Sound and fury signify nothing. The narrator begins the film by reminding us of Shakespeare's words. I can't decide if this was a confession by Woody Allen when he realized the movie fits that phrase. I have followed Mr. Allen's film career since the early 70's and have learned that sometimes disappointment follows. Of course, there are also times when pure screen magic occurs and that makes the journey worthwhile. Unfortunately, there is no magic here, just sound and faux-fury.

Here is a convoluted recap of the story: Elderly woman Helena (Gemma Jones) is dumped by her doesn't want to admit he's aging husband Alfie (Anthony Hopkins). He tries to be a swinging bachelor and ends up marrying a gold-digging call girl named Charlamaine (Lucy Punch). Helena looks for guidance from Cristal (Pauline Collins),a fortune teller referred by Helena's daughter Sally (Naomi Watts). Sally is married to Roy (Josh Brolin), a morally bankrupt one-hit wonder in the novel-writing business. She works at a very successful art gallery run by Greg (Antonio Banderas). Sally and Roy yell at each other a lot and Sally has eyes for Greg, who instead has eyes for Iris (Anna Friel), a painter Sally discovered. Roy has peeping eyes for Dia (Freida Pinto), whom he can see from his bedroom window.

So, you get the idea. It is actually a set-up that fits perfectly with a Woody Allen film. A madcat story where no one is happy with their life and they each seek proof of their worth. Interesting that they seem to have some security with their current partner, but it's just not enough. The cast is stellar, and London makes the perfect setting. However, nothing really clicks. Manly Josh Brolin just doesn't wear neurosis well. I didn't enjoy watching Naomi Watts yell at people. Anthony Hopkins' character is such a pathetic re-tread that it really annoyed me. Mr. Allen obviously finds Freida Pinto appealing because her character gets perfect lighting and comes across as a victim, despite dumping her fiancé.

Despite all the turns in these sub-plots, only one of the stories really has any finality to it. Now I don't mind endings that leave much to the imagination, but I do get irritated when it appears the filmmaker just lost interest. Even when that filmmaker is Woody Allen.

Allegedly the plot was born to prove that believing in anything, no matter how silly and incongruous, makes people happier.

It's been proved many times that people find consolation in anything that gives them hope and in this story we start with the most hopeless case of Helena, a middle-aged, wealthy housewife abandoned by her husband, Alfie.

Helena is not smart and starts seeing Cristal, a clairvoyant, for comfort. At first, Helena desperately wants Alfie back, but slowly, Cristal convinces her that she can do better.

Helena's daughter, Sally is going through the final stages of her marriage with Roy, a nasty piece of work, who having got lucky with his first book, decided to pursue a writing career, which is proving disastrous.

Their fragile balance is shatter respectively by Sally's new boss, a sexy Banderas as Greg and by female neighbour Dia.

A final wheel is set in motion when Alfie, after much grief in the dating world, hooks up with a call girl and decides to marry her. Like way too many before him, Alfie's in for some nasty surprises.

Things don't go much better for Roy and Sally, with the exception of Helena. Having started as the most unhappy and unlikely to straighten her life, thanks to Cristal's bad advice, but most of all, to her own "faith" in Cristal, Helena ends up as the sole winner of some sort.

To prove once more that life is unfair and chance is more important than intelligence. Good movie, albeit depressing.

– We have always been willing to see Woody Allen movies if for no other reason then to see where his head is at. He always comes up with an interesting group of characters who are struggling in great angst in which we can some way identify with or at least understand. This time he gives us various configurations of couples who are each having trouble with their relationships and for the most part they each have some very wishful fantasies. The oldest couple has split because Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) feels he should have relationship with hot young blond (Lucy Punch). His disappointed wife Helena (Gemma Jones) falls under the spell of a fortune teller (Pauline Collins) whom she believes hook line and sinker. Helena then falls in love with a widower Jonathan (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) who needs the permission of his dead wife to marry her. Alfie and Helena have a daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) who is married to Roy, a doctor (Josh Broslin) who doesn't practice but is trying to produce a second novel rather than a family and prefers looking out his apartment window at Dia (Freida Pinto), a beautiful woman whom he is convinced would be the perfect partner for him. The doctor – now writer's wife really imagines that she would be better off with her art dealer boss (Antonio Banderes). If she can't have him she would hope that her mother would lend her money to open her own art gallery but the mother doesn't think the stars are aligned right. There are many more twists and turns in this study of the human psyche. There is also a narrator to the movie (Zak Orth) who really doesn't tell us very much. Allen has a writing style that gives the audience a feel for who are these people and the dilemmas they face from their own point of view. The problem is that when all is said and done, we didn't really care that much about any of the characters despite the unique story and a great cast. There were some good comedic moments but overall it is a sad commentary about human nature. (2010) FilmRap.com