Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.
Love and Death is a distinctively Woody Allen creation — a parody of Russian literary epics (Tolstoy, Dostoevsky) blended with his trademark neurotic Jewish humor and absurdist anachronism. The novelty is genuinely high: there is no other film quite like this mashup of Bergmanesque visual seriousness and slapstick comedy set against Napoleonic Russia. The plot is serviceable and comedic but somewhat episodic. Acting is charming and committed from Allen and Keaton but not exceptional. Cinematography appropriately apes the grand Russian epic style with some genuine visual flair. The ending, featuring Death literally leading Boris away, is memorably bleak and funny but somewhat telegraphed.