Sleeper (1973)

Sleeper holds the distinction of being the fifth film directed by Woody Allen. What an honor, right!? While there is nothing inherently important about a director's fifth film, Sleeper nonetheless is important in Allen's filmography. The movie marks a turning point in the director's career and style - one where he ever so slightly begins to leave his earlier slapstick, sketch comedy style behind in favor of more sophisticated ideas. That isn't to say the movie is concerned with more than making the audience laugh, because it is very much a comedy above all else. The film does, however, begin to use some of Allen's hallmark techniques and touches on a few of the themes he will come back to again and again in his work. The film may not be quintessential Allen, but it goes a long way in showing just what quintessential Allen will mean. In short, Sleeper is the first "Woody Allen movie."

The movie marks quite a few firsts for Allen. It's the first time the opening credits are white text on a black background set to jazz music, something that (I think) has been done for all of his films since. The film also marks the beginning of his film collaboration with Diane Keaton (the two actually met during the Broadway run of Allen's play Play it Again, Sam). Keaton would go on to appear in the following four films directed by Allen, and six more in all. Sleeper was also Allen's first pairing with screenwriting partner Marshall Brickman. Allen and Brickman would team up for three more films (Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Manhattan Murder Mystery), and would put out some of the most well regarded work in Allen's filmography. Furthermore, Sleeper touches on some of the existential themes that Allen would delve deeper into with his subsequent work. Belief in God, the nature of love and sex, and man's place in the universe are all addressed (if only minimally). Such themes would only become more prominent in the director's future films. The movie also satirizes science, politics, art, and religion, all three of which Allen would continue mocking in later efforts.

While Sleeper may be a nice starting point for a discussion of Allen's overall style, it is also completely unlike anything else in his filmography. The movie serves as the director's only attempt at science fiction. Granted, it's a completely comedic take on the genre, but it nonetheless resides within the realm of sci-fi. In fact, the film is somewhat like a sci-fi parody. The narrative comedically portrays many well-worn science fiction storylines and plot points. The initial premise of the film (a man wakes up after sleeping for hundreds of years) may have been taken from H.G Wells' The Sleeper Awakes, but that premise is used in many, many other works as well. George Orwell's 1984 may have been the inspiration for the film's depiction of an oppressive government, but, again, that's a common theme within the genre. However, as I said, the film isn't a straight parody. It doesn't seem too concerned with commenting on the science fiction genre, or with taking aim at anything inherent within the genre. Allen uses those standard clichés commonly associated with sci-fi mostly to create his own brand of comedy, not to simply point them out ironically. The film is better off for this.

Allen's evolution as a writer is one of the more apparent strengths of Sleeper. This likely has a lot to do with his pairing with Brickman. Of Allen's previous four films, the only other one to attempt a traditional narrative is Bananas. When compared to that particular film, Sleeper is (pardon the poor sci-fi pun) light years ahead. Bananas is much more aligned with Allen's sketch comedy style, and the overall narrative suffers. Sleeper, on the other hand, is very much plot and character driven. While no one is going to claim the characters in Sleeper are deep or layered, they do come across as actual human beings and not cartoon characters thrown into a plot for comedic effect. In future films, Allen's characterizations become one of his strongest attributes as a filmmaker, and you can really start to see the focus of his writing beginning to shift with Sleeper.

As for the overall quality of the film, it's a solidly funny, clever movie. Like any good science fiction movie set in the future, it uses the contrasts between our lives and the lives of those in the future to make statements and criticize the current norms. There's enough intelligence in the movie that it isn't completely played for laughs. At the end of the day, though, that's still the film's aim. Allen is starting to pepper in some of the things that are important to him, but he's still going mostly for laughs. Sleeper is the first high quality Woody Allen movie, so it makes sense that he would refine this particular style in the future. Until next time...