''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

film written and directed by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

. Loosely based on

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

's film ''

La Strada ''La strada'' () is a 1954 Italian drama film directed by Federico Fellini and co-written by Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. The film tells the story of Gelsomina, a simple-minded young woman (Giulietta Masina) bought from her mother ...

'', the film tells the fictional story, set in the 1930s, of self-confident

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

ist Emmet Ray (played by

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

) who falls in love with a

mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...

woman (

Samantha Morton Samantha Jane Morton (born 13 May 1977) is an English actress and director. Known for her work in independent cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for tw ...

). The film also stars

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...

and

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Jack Malone in the television drama ''Without a Trace'' (2002–2009), for which he received a Golden Globe Award in 2004. LaPaglia won a Prim ...

. Like several of Allen's other films (e.g., ''

Zelig ''Zelig'' is a 1983 American mockumentary film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen as Leonard Zelig, a nondescript enigma, who, apparently out of his desire to fit in and be liked, unwittingly takes on the characteristics of strong per ...

''), the film is occasionally interrupted by interviews with critics and biographers like Allen,

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fol ...

Daniel Okrent Daniel Okrent (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and editing, editor. He is best known for having served as the first public editor of ''The New York Times'' newspaper, inventing Rotisserie League Baseball, and for writing several books ( ...

,and

Douglas McGrath Douglas Geoffrey McGrath (February 2, 1958 – November 3, 2022) was an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Tony Award, and Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, who comment on the film's plot as if the characters were real-life people. The film received generally positive reviews upon release, with Penn and Morton receiving Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

Plot summary

Emmet Ray is a jazz guitarist who achieved some acclaim in the 1930s with a handful of recordings for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

, but who faded from public view under mysterious circumstances. Although he is a talented musician, Ray's personal life is a shambles. He is a spendthrift, womanizer and

pimp Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

who believes that falling in love will ruin his musical career. Due to his heavy drinking, he's often late or even absent for performances with his quintet. After music, his favorite hobbies are shooting rats at garbage dumps and watching passing trains. Ray idolizes famed guitarist

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Romani-French jazz guitarist and composer. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe and has been hailed as one of its most ...

, and is said to have fainted in his presence and to have fled a nightclub performance with severe

stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when perf ...

upon hearing a false rumor that Reinhardt was in the audience. On a double date with his drummer, Ray meets Hattie, a shy, mute laundress. After overcoming some initial frustration due to the difficulties of communication, Ray and Hattie form an affectionate and close relationship. She accompanies him on a cross-country trip to Hollywood, where he plays in a short film; Hattie is spotted by a director and enjoys a brief screen career. However Ray is convinced that a musician of his stature should never settle down with one woman. On a whim, Ray marries socialite Blanche Williams. However, Blanche sees Ray mainly as a colorful example of lower-class life and a source of inspiration for her literary writings. She reports that Ray is tormented by nightmares and shouts out Hattie's name in his sleep. When Blanche cheats with mobster Al Torrio, Ray leaves her and locates Hattie. He assumes that she will take him back, but discovers that she is happily married and raising a family. Afterwards, on a date with a new woman, a despondent Ray plays a melody that Hattie adored and then smashes his guitar and forlornly repeats the phrase "I made a mistake!" as his date leaves him. Woody Allen and the rest of the documentary experts remarked that Ray's final compositions were legendary, finally reaching the quality of Reinhardt's.

Cast

Production

Development

Hot off his 1969 directing debut ''

Take the Money and Run ''Take the Money and Run'' is a 1969 American mockumentary comedy film directed by Woody Allen. Allen co-wrote the screenplay with Mickey Rose and stars alongside Janet Margolin. The film chronicles the life of Virgil Starkwell, an inept bank ro ...

'', Allen signed a contract to direct a series of films with

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. Told to "write what you want to write," Allen (a clarinetist and avid jazz enthusiast) wrote ''The Jazz Baby'', a dramatic screenplay about a jazz musician set in the 1930s. Allen said later that the United Artists executives were "stunned ... because they had expected a comedy.

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

were very worried and told me, 'We realize that we signed a contract with you and you can do anything you want. But we want to tell you that we really don't like this.'" Allen went along with United Artists, writing and directing ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'' instead. In 1995, he dismissed ''The Jazz Baby'' as having been "probably too ambitious." In 1998, Allen returned to the project, rewriting the script and dubbing it ''Sweet and Lowdown''. In the role of Emmet Ray, a jazz guitarist whom Allen had originally planned to play himself, the director cast

; Allen also considered

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

, but the actor was busy at the time. In regard to working with Sean Penn, who had a reputation for being difficult to work with, Allen later said, "I had no problem with him whatsoever ... He gave it his all and took direction and made contributions himself ... a tremendous actor." Allen has said that he told Samantha Morton to "play erpart like

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Grou ...

. And she said, 'Who is

?' and I realized how young she was. Then I told her about him ndshe went back and saw the films."

Filming

''Sweet and Lowdown'' was filmed entirely in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

but is set in the Chicago area and California. The film was the first of Allen's that was edited by

Alisa Lepselter Alisa Lepselter (born 1963) is an American film editor who has edited director Woody Allen's films since 1999. Life and career Lepselter received a bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1985 with a major in art history. Lepselter began her e ...

, who has edited all of Allen's films since. Lepselter succeeded Susan E. Morse, who edited Allen's films for the previous twenty years. It was also the first of three films where Allen collaborated with Chinese

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

Zhao Fei Zhao Fei (, ; born 1961) is a Chinese cinematographer and frequent collaborator to many directors of the China's so called "fifth generation" film movement. Zhao also served as Woody Allen's director of photography for three films between 1998 ...

. Allen had first noticed Zhao with his award-winning work on ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an ...

'', some years earlier.

Music

The music for the film was arranged and conducted by

Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...

. All of the guitar solos are played by guitarist

Howard Alden Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. Early life How ...

. Alden also coached

on playing the guitar for his role in the film. Additional rhythm guitarists were

Bucky Pizzarelli John Paul "Bucky" Pizzarelli (January 9, 1926 – April 1, 2020) was an American jazz guitarist. He was the father of jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli and double bassist Martin Pizzarelli. He worked for NBC as a staffman for Dick Cavett (1971) ...

and

James Chirillo James Louis Chirillo (born May 2, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist, banjoist, composer, arranger, and band leader. Career From 1977 to 1979, Chirillo performed regularly with singers Marilyn Maye, Vic Damone, Joey Heatherton, Lorna Luft, an ...

. Chirillo played rhythm guitar on the ''Sweet Georgia Brown'' track where the crescent moon cable breaks while

is riding it. Pizzarelli did all other rhythm tracks.

Soundtrack

*When Day Is Done (1926)- Written by Robert Katscher – Performed by

*Clarinet Marmalade (1918) – Written by

Larry Shields Lawrence James Shields (September 13, 1893 - November 21, 1953) was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist. He was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background Shields was born int ...

and

Henry Ragas Henry W. Ragas (January 1, 1891 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially. Background He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Band on t ...

– Performed by Ted Lewis and His Orchestra *Parlez-moi d'Amour (1930) – Written by Jean Lenoir – Performed by

*Mystery Pacific (1936–7) – Written by Django Reinhardt and

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the firs ...

– Performed by

and elly Friesen *Limehouse Blues (1922) – Lyrics by Philip Braham – Written by Douglas Furber – Arranged by Dick Hyman *It Don't Mean a Thing (1931) – Lyrics by

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

– Written by Duke Ellington *Out of Nowhere (1931) – Lyrics by Edward Heyman – Written by Johnny Green *I'll See You in My Dreams (1924) – Lyrics by

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", "Ain't We Got Fun?", "Carolina in the Morning", "Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Goo' By ...

– Written by Isham Jones *Sweet Georgia Brown (1925) – Music by

Ben Bernie Benjamin Anzelwitz, known professionally as Ben Bernie (May 30, 1891 – October 23, 1943),DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. ...

and

Maceo Pinkard Maceo Pinkard (June 27, 1897 – July 21, 1962) was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is "Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem ...

– Lyrics by

Kenneth Casey Kenneth Casey (January 10, 1899 – August 10, 1965) was an American composer, publisher, author, and child movie star in early silents. Biography Born in New York City, Casey worked as a child actor in over thirty films for Vitagraph Studios b ...

*Unfaithful Woman (1999) – Written by Dick Hyman *Shine (1910) – Lyrics by

Cecil Mack Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher. Biography Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsyl ...

, Lew Brown – Music by

Ford Dabney Ford Thompson Dabney (15 March 1883 – 6 June 1958) was an American ragtime pianist, composer, songwriter, and acclaimed director of bands and orchestras for Broadway musical theater, revues, vaudeville, and early recordings. Additionally, for ...

*After You've Gone (1918) – Lyrics by

Henry Creamer Henry Sterling Creamer (June 21, 1879 – October 14, 1930) was an African American popular song lyricist and theater producer. He was born in Richmond, Virginia and died in New York. He co-wrote many popular songs in the years from 1900 to 1929, ...

– Written by

Turner Layton Turner Layton (July 2, 1894 – February 6, 1978), born John Turner Layton, Jr., was an African American songwriter, singer and pianist. He frequently worked with Henry Creamer. Life Born in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1894, he was the s ...

*I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles (1919) – Lyrics by James Brockman, Nat Vincent, James Kendis – Music by John W. Kellette *There'll Be Some Changes Made (1921) – Lyrics by

Billy Higgins Billy Higgins (October 11, 1936 – May 3, 2001) was an American jazz drummer. He played mainly free jazz and hard bop. Biography Higgins was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. Higgins played on Ornette Coleman's first records, be ...

– Music by W. Benton Overstreet *Viper Mad (1937) – Written by

Clarence Williams (musician) Clarence Williams (October 6, 1898 or October 8, 1893 – November 6, 1965) was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher. Biography Williams was born in Plaquemine, Louisiana, to Dennis, a bassis ...

and

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic temp ...

– Performed by Sidney Bechet *Indiana (1917) – Written by

Ballard MacDonald Ballard MacDonald (October 15, 1882 – November 17, 1935) was an American lyricist, who was one of the writers of Tin Pan Alley. Born in Portland, Oregon, he was a charter member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers ...

and James F. Hanley – Performed by

Red Nichols Ernest Loring "Red" Nichols (May 8, 1905 – June 28, 1965) was an American jazz cornetist, composer, and jazz bandleader. Biography Early life and career Nichols was born in Ogden, Utah, United States. His father was a college music profes ...

*Aloha Oe (1908) – Written by

Queen Liliuokalani Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mothe ...

– Performed by Dick Monday *Abide with Me (1847) – Lyrics by Henry F. Lyte – Music by William H. Monk *12th Street Rag (1919) – Written by

Euday L. Bowman Euday Louis Bowman (November 9, 1886 – May 26, 1949) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime and blues who represented the style of ''Texas Ragtime''. He is chiefly remembered as the composer of the highly popular "Twelfth Street R ...

– Performed by Howard Alden *The Peanut Vendor (1927) – Written by Moïse Simons – English Lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert and

Marion Sunshine Marion Sunshine (born Mary Tunstall Ijames, May 15, 1894 – January 25, 1963) was an American actress and songwriter. During her youth she worked in many films and Broadway musicals, as well as vaudeville and variety shows. In the 1930s she wa ...

*All of Me (1931) – Written by

Gerald Marks Gerald Marks (October 13, 1900 – January 27, 1997) was an American composer from Saginaw, Michigan. He was best known for the song " All of Me" which he co-wrote with Seymour Simons and has been recorded about 2,000 times. He also wrote the s ...

and

Seymour Simons Seymour Simons (January 14, 1896 – February 12, 1949) was an American pianist, composer, orchestra leader, and radio producer. Biography Simons born in Detroit, Michigan, was originally trained in engineering and went to work as a researc ...

*Caravan (1936) – Written by Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol and

– Performed by

Bunny Berigan Roland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader who rose to fame during the swing era. His career and influence were shortened by alcoholism, and ended with his early demise at the ...

and His Orchestra *Old Fashioned Love (1923) – Music by

James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...

– Lyrics by Cecil Mack *Just A Gigolo (1929) – Written by

Irving Caesar Irving Caesar (born Isidor Keiser, July 4, 1895 – December 18, 1996) was an American lyricist and theater composer who wrote lyrics for numerous song standards, including " Swanee", "Sometimes I'm Happy", "Crazy Rhythm", and " Tea for Tw ...

– Written by

Leonello Casucci Leonello Casucci (1885–1975) was an Italian composer. Casucci was born in Pistoia, Tuscany in 1885 and he's best known for having composed the music of the famous 1929 hit song Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo in 1928, with lyrics in German by Jul ...

and Julius Brammer *Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You) (1931) – Lyrics by

Bert Kalmar Bert Kalmar (February 10, 1884 – September 18, 1947) was an American songwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970. He was also a screenwriter. Biography Kalmar, a native of New York City, left school at an early age ...

– Music by

Harry Ruby Harry Rubenstein (January 27, 1895 – February 23, 1974), known professionally as Harry Ruby, was an American actor, pianist, composer, songwriter and screenwriter, who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970.Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

– Performed by Django Reinhardt *Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down (1927) – Written by Ray Ludwig and Howdy Quicksell – Performed by Bix Beiderbecke *Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (1931) – Lyrics by

Ted Koehler Ted L. Koehler (July 14, 1894 – January 17, 1973) was an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. Life and career Koehler was born in 1894 in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver, but w ...

, Billy Moll – Music by Harry Barris *Hot Lips (1922) – Written by Henry Busse,

Henry Lange Karl Julius Heinrich Lange (13 April 1821 – 30 April 1893) was a German cartographer. Biography He was born at Stettin. He worked with Heinrich Berghaus, Berghaus, and then labored three years in Edinburgh on Alexander Keith Johnston (1804–1 ...

and Lou Davis – Performed by Henry Busse and His Orchestra *You Were Meant for Me (1929) – Lyrics by

Arthur Freed Arthur Freed (September 9, 1894 – April 12, 1973) was an American lyricist and Hollywood film producer. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture twice, in 1951 for ''An American in Paris'' and in 1958 for '' Gigi''. Both films were musicals. ...

– Music by Nacio Herb Brown *Avalon (1920) – Written by

Buddy G. DeSylva George Gard "Buddy" DeSylva (January 27, 1895 – July 11, 1950) was an American songwriter, film producer and record executive. He wrote or co-wrote many popular songs and, along with Johnny Mercer and Glenn Wallichs, he co-founded Capitol Recor ...

, Al Jolson and Vincent Rose – Performed by Django Reinhardt *Lulu's Back in Town (1935) – Music by

Harry Warren Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...

– Lyrics by

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swi ...

*Sweet Sue, Just You (1928) – Lyrics by Will J. Harris – Music by Victor Young – Performed by Howard Alden

Reception

''Sweet and Lowdown'' received generally positive reviews; it currently holds a 77% 'fresh' rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

from 61 reviews, with the consensus, "Critics praise Woody Allen's ''Sweet and Lowdown'' for its charming, light-hearted comedy and quality acting." The film carries a 70 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

indicating generally favorable reviews. Morton's performance was met with critical acclaim, with

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/ liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

critic

Stephanie Zacharek Stephanie Zacharek is an American film critic at ''Time'', based in New York City. From 2013 to 2015, she was the principal film critic for ''The Village Voice''. She was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism. Early life Stephanie Zachare ...

saying that she "quietly explodes

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

..Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years."

Awards and nominations

''Sweet and Lowdown'' was nominated for the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Actor in a Leading Role Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

(Penn) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Morton). The pair were also nominated for

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

in the acting categories for Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. The film received three nominations from the

Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films The Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films is a nonprofit organization that honors outstanding achievement in independent and world cinema. The organization gives out the Chlotrudis Awards. Membership in the Society includes "the Boston film comm ...

for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay. In addition, Morton was nominated for Best Supporting Actress from the

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

, the

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...

, the

National Society of Film Critics Awards The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...

, and an

Empire Award The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

for Best British Actress. At the

London Film Critics Circle Awards The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of the ...

, Morton won for British Supporting Actress of the Year. Morton's nominations were especially notable given that she does not utter a single word of dialogue in the film.

References

Bibliography

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet And Lowdown 1999 films 1999 comedy-drama films 1999 independent films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films American comedy-drama films American mockumentary films Fictional mute characters Films about guitars and guitarists Films directed by Woody Allen Films produced by Jean Doumanian Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York (state) Films with screenplays by Woody Allen Jazz films Sony Pictures Classics films