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A few months ago, Woody Allen’s latest film Cassandra’s Dream was released on DVD. Few people noticed; I remember reading about it on a blog earlier this year, but no one seemed to care much. Woody Allen, despite his name recognition, doesn’t get a lot of box office love.

And it’s a shame, because Cassandra’s Dream is well worth watching.

There are, essentially, two kinds of Woody Allen films: the ones he’s in, and the ones he’s not in. That’s an oversimplification, of course, but Woody Allen films starring (or even featuring) Woody Allen tend to have a similar feel to them. Mostly it’s because all of Allen’s scenes turn into Allen Monologues, with nobody else getting a word in edgewise. He is a funny character, sure, but the fact remains that many of his films are very similar.

In one class, you have the famous Annie Hall, along with Manhattan Murder Mystery, Take the Money and Run, Sleeper, Play it Again Sam, and Anything Else.

Then, in the much smaller class that includes movies like The Purple Rose of Cairo and Match Point, we have Cassandra’s Dream. Woody Allen is nowhere to be found, but it still bears his distinctive fingerprint.

Cassandra’s Dream is the story of two brothers, Ian (Ewan McGregor) and Terry (Colin Farrell). Ian, the more successful and ambitious of the two, knows how to endear himself to the higher classes and has dreams of becoming a hotel owner in California. Terry, however, works as a mechanic and is in gambling debt up to his ears.

When the boys’ rich uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson) comes to town, Ian and Terry ask him for help. Ian needs money to invest in his hotels, while Terry needs money to keep his kneecaps unbroken. But Howard, who’s been helping his relatives ever since he became successful, needs a favor this time.

Like many men who’ve made their own fortunes, Howard has been…less than scrupulous along the way. We never find out details, and neither do Terry and Ian. However, we do know that Howard’s in danger of going to prison unless he can keep one of his old business associates quiet. He wants his nephews to do the job for him.

In this film, Woody Allen forces us to examine how far we would go to protect our own lives, lifestyles, and reputations. Is our ultimate loyalty to moralty, our families, or simply ourselves? What ultimately happens to Terry and Ian doesn’t matter as much as the path they take to get there.

Though the foreshadowing is somewhat heavy and the film a little moralistic, it’s a well-acted and well-told story of corruption and human nature. If you’re an Allen fan, but especially if you’re not, give it a chance.

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