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{{About||the 1944 Benny Goodman film|Sweet and Low-Down|the Dave Van Ronk album|Sweet & Lowdown}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Sweet and Lowdown
| image          = Sweet_lowdown_moviep.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Woody Allen]]
| producer       = [[Jean Doumanian]]
| writer         = Woody Allen
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Anthony LaPaglia]]
* [[Brian Markinson]]
* [[Gretchen Mol]]
* [[Samantha Morton]]
* [[Sean Penn]]
* [[Uma Thurman]]
* [[James Urbaniak]]
* [[John Waters]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Zhao Fei]]
| editing        = [[Alisa Lepselter]]
| studio         = Sweetland Films
| distributor    = [[Sony Pictures Classics]]
| released       = {{Film date|1999|9|3}}
| runtime        = 95 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = 
| gross          = $4,197,015
}}
'''''Sweet and Lowdown''''' is a 1999 American [[Comedy drama|comedy-drama]] [[mockumentary]] written and directed by [[Woody Allen]]. Loosely based on [[Federico Fellini]]'s film ''[[La Strada]]'',<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/279/film-review/allusions-grandeur | title=Allusions of Grandeur: Sweet and Lowdown | date=11 March 2000 }}</ref> the film tells the story of jazz guitarist Emmet Ray (played by [[Sean Penn]]) who falls in love with [[Muteness|mute]] laundress Hattie ([[Samantha Morton]]). Like several of Allen's other films (e.g., ''[[Zelig]]''), the film is occasionally interrupted by interviews with critics and biographers like Allen, [[Nat Hentoff]], [[Daniel Okrent]], and [[Douglas McGrath]], who comment on the film's plot as if the characters were real-life people.

The film received generally positive reviews upon release,<ref name="tomatoes" /> with Penn and Morton receiving Oscar nominations for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]], respectively.

==Plot==
Emmet Ray is a jazz guitarist who achieved some acclaim in the 1930s with a handful of recordings for [[RCA Records|RCA Victor]], but faded from public view under mysterious circumstances. Although he is a talented musician, Ray's personal life fell into shambles after his disappearance from public view. He's often late in or even absent from performances with his quintet due to heavy drinking. He spends extravagantly, and is a womanizer and a [[Procuring (prostitution)|pimp]]. When he's not playing music or pursuing women, he shoots rats at garbage dumps and watches passing trains.

Ray idolizes famed guitarist [[Django Reinhardt]], so much that he's said to have fled a nightclub performance with severe [[stage fright]] 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 initial frustration due to communication difficulties, Ray and Hattie form an affectionate and close relationship. However, Ray is convinced that a musician of his stature should never settle down with one woman. Because of this, Ray marries socialite Blanche Williams. But Williams sees Ray as a colorful example of lower-class life and a source of inspiration for her literary writing. During their marriage, Ray is tormented by nightmares and at one time, shouts out Hattie's name in his sleep.

When Williams cheats on Ray with mobster Al Torrio, Ray leaves her and finds Hattie. He assumes that she will take him back, but discovers that she is happily married and raising a family. Ray is despondent, and laments that leaving Hattie was a mistake. Woody Allen and the rest of the documentary experts remark that Ray's final compositions were legendary, finally reaching the quality of Reinhardt's. <!--It was really hard to copyedit this without having watched the movie. If I ever get some free-time, I'll watch the movie, then come back and improve this drastically. -CrowEater-->

==Cast==
{{castlist|
* [[Sean Penn]] as Emmet Ray
* [[Samantha Morton]] as Hattie
* [[Anthony LaPaglia]] as Al Torrio
* [[Uma Thurman]] as Blanche Williams
* [[James Urbaniak]] as Henry
* [[John Waters]] as Mr. Haynes
* [[Gretchen Mol]] as Ellie
* [[Denis O'Hare]] as Jake
* [[Molly Price]] as Ann
* [[Brian Markinson]] as Bill Shields
* [[Tony Darrow]] as Ben
* [[Daniel Okrent]] as A.J. Pickman
* [[Brad Garrett]] as Joe Bedloe
* [[Kaili Vernoff]] as Gracie
* Michael Sprague as [[Django Reinhardt]]
* Ben Duncan as Himself
* [[Douglas McGrath]] as Himself
* [[Nat Hentoff]] as Himself 
* [[Woody Allen]] as Himself
}}
==Production==

=== Development ===
After his 1969 directing debut ''[[Take the Money and Run (film)|Take the Money and Run]]'', Allen signed a contract to direct a series of films with [[United Artists]]. Told to "write what you want to write," Allen, a clarinetist and avid jazz enthusiast, wrote ''The Jazz Baby'', a drama screenplay about a jazz musician set in the 1930s. Allen said later that the United Artists executives were "stunned&nbsp;... because they had expected a comedy. [They] 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.'"{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=36-37}} Allen went along with United Artists, writing and directing ''[[Bananas (film)|Bananas]]'' instead. In 1995, he dismissed ''The Jazz Baby'' as having been "probably too ambitious."{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=36-37}}

In 1998, Allen returned to the project, rewriting the script and changing its name to ''Sweet and Lowdown''. Allen had originally planned to play Ray himself, but eventually cast [[Sean Penn]]. Allen also considered [[Johnny Depp]], but Depp was busy at the time.{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=347-356}} Penn had a reputation for being difficult to work with, but Allen later said, "I had no problem with him whatsoever&nbsp;... He gave it his all and took direction and made contributions himself&nbsp;... a tremendous actor."{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=347-356}}

Allen, in a retrospective, said that he told Samantha Morton to "play [her] part like [[Harpo Marx]]. And she said, 'Who is Harpo Marx?' and I realized how young she was. Then I told her about him [and] she went back and saw the films."{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=347-356}}

=== Filming ===
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2023}}
''Sweet and Lowdown'' was filmed entirely in [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[New Jersey]]<ref name="Record2002">{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Tom |date=January 2, 2002 |title=A Place For Troops, Troupes, Hoops: Teaneck Armory Still Vital |work=[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]] |url=http://www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/Armory/armory2002.html |url-status=dead |access-date=June 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306013425/http://www.teaneck.org/virtualvillage/Armory/armory2002.html |archive-date=March 6, 2012}}</ref> but is set in the Chicago area and California. {{vague|date=March 2023}}{{sfn|Bjorkman|2005|p=347-356}}

The film was the first of Allen's that was edited by [[Alisa Lepselter]], 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]] [[Zhao Fei]]. Allen had first noticed Zhao with his award-winning work on ''[[Raise the Red Lantern]]'', some years earlier.

==Music==
The music for the film was arranged and conducted by [[Dick Hyman]]. All of the guitar solos are played by guitarist [[Howard Alden]].

Additional rhythm guitarists were [[Bucky Pizzarelli]] and [[James Chirillo]]. Chirillo played rhythm guitar on the track "[[Sweet Georgia Brown]]." Pizzarelli created all other rhythm tracks.

===Soundtrack===
{{div col|colwidth=48em}}
* When Day Is Done (1926) - Written by Robert Katscher – Performed by [[Django Reinhardt]]
* Clarinet Marmalade (1918) – Written by [[Larry Shields]] and [[Henry Ragas]] – Performed by [[Ted Lewis (musician)|Ted Lewis]] and His Orchestra
* Parlez-moi d'Amour (1930) – Written by [[Jean Lenoir (composer)|Jean Lenoir]] – Performed by [[Howard Alden]]
* Mystery Pacific (1936–7) – Written by Django Reinhardt and [[Stéphane Grappelli]] – Performed by [[Howard Alden]], [[Bucky Pizzarelli]] and [Kelly 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]] – Written by [[Duke Ellington]]
* Out of Nowhere (1931) – Lyrics by [[Edward Heyman]] – Written by [[Johnny Green]]
* [[I'll See You in My Dreams (1924 song)|I'll See You in My Dreams]] (1924) – Lyrics by [[Gus Kahn]] – Written by Isham Jones
* Sweet Georgia Brown (1925) – Music by [[Ben Bernie]] and [[Maceo Pinkard]] – Lyrics by [[Kenneth Casey]]
* Unfaithful Woman (1999) – Written by Dick Hyman
* Shine (1910) – Lyrics by [[Cecil Mack]], Lew Brown – Music by [[Ford Dabney]]
* After You've Gone (1918) – Lyrics by [[Henry Creamer]] – Written by [[Turner Layton]]
* 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]] – Music by W. Benton Overstreet
* Viper Mad (1937) – Written by [[Clarence Williams (musician)]] and [[Sidney Bechet]] – Performed by Sidney Bechet
* Indiana (1917) – Written by [[Ballard MacDonald]] and James F. Hanley – Performed by [[Red Nichols]]
* Aloha Oe (1908) – Written by [[Queen Liliuokalani]] – 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]] – Performed by Howard Alden
* The Peanut Vendor (1927) – Written by Moïse Simons – English Lyrics by L. Wolfe Gilbert and [[Marion Sunshine]]
* All of Me (1931) – Written by [[Gerald Marks]] and [[Seymour Simons]] 
* Caravan (1936) – Written by Duke Ellington, [[Juan Tizol]] and [[Irving Mills]] – Performed by [[Bunny Berigan]] and His Orchestra 
* Old Fashioned Love (1923) – Music by [[James P. Johnson]] – Lyrics by Cecil Mack
* Just A Gigolo (1929) – Written by [[Irving Caesar]] – Written by [[Leonello Casucci]] and [[Julius Brammer]]
* Nevertheless  (I'm in Love with You) (1931) – Lyrics by [[Bert Kalmar]] – Music by [[Harry Ruby]]
* 3:00 AM Blues (1999) – Written by Dick Hyman
* Liebestraum No. 3 (1850) – Written by [[Franz Liszt]] – 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]], [[Billy Moll]] – Music by Harry Barris
* Hot Lips (1922) – Written by Henry Busse, [[Henry Lange]] and [[Lou Davis]] – Performed by Henry Busse and His Orchestra
* You Were Meant for Me (1929) – Lyrics by [[Arthur Freed]] – Music by Nacio Herb Brown
* Avalon (1920) – Written by [[Buddy G. DeSylva]], Al Jolson and Vincent Rose – Performed by Django Reinhardt
* Lulu's Back in Town (1935) – Music by [[Harry Warren]] – Lyrics by [[Al Dubin]]
* Sweet Sue, Just You (1928) – Lyrics by Will J. Harris – Music by Victor Young – Performed by Howard Alden<ref>{{cite book |last= Harvey |first= Adam|date= 2007|title= The Soundtracks of Woody Allen|location= US |publisher= Macfarland & Company, Inc |page=138 |isbn=9780786429684}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==Reception==
The film received generally positive reviews. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] it has 77% rating based on reviews from 61 critics. The site's consensus is: "Critics praise Woody Allen's ''Sweet and Lowdown'' for its charming, light-hearted comedy and quality acting."<ref name= "tomatoes">{{rotten-tomatoes|sweet_and_lowdown|Sweet and Lowdown}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a score of 70% based on reviews from 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{Metacritic film|title=Sweet and Lowdown}}</ref>

Morton's performance was met with critical acclaim. ''[[Salon.com]]'' critic [[Stephanie Zacharek]] saying that she "quietly explodes [the film] ... Her performance is like nothing I've seen in recent years."<ref name="Zacharek">{{cite web |date=3 December 1999 |last1=Zacharek |first1=Stephanie |title="Sweet and Lowdown" |url=https://www.salon.com/1999/12/03/lowdown/ |website=Salon |access-date=3 August 2024 |archive-date=8 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008180544/https://www.salon.com/1999/12/03/lowdown/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<!--Section could use expansion from actual reviews -->
{{Expand section|date=August 2024}}

== Accolades ==
''Sweet and Lowdown'' was nominated for the [[72nd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]] for [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Penn) and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] (Morton).<ref>{{Cite web |title=2000 {{!}} Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=www.oscars.org |date=22 April 2015 |language=en |archive-date=2018-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417092419/https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2000 |url-status=live }}</ref> The pair were also nominated for [[57th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]] in the acting categories for Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Winners & Nominees 2000 |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/2000 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=www.goldenglobes.com |language=en}}</ref> The film received three nominations from the [[Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films]] for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2001, 7th Annual Awards |url=https://chlotrudis.org/awards/past-awards/2001-7th-annual-awards/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008180442/https://chlotrudis.org/awards/past-awards/2001-7th-annual-awards/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In addition, Morton was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1999|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 24, 2000 |title="American Beauty" tops Chicago critics' nominees |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-01-24-0004060014-story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200415152047/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-01-24-0004060014-story.html |archive-date=April 15, 2020}} [https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-01-24-0004060014-story.html Alt URL]</ref> the [[1999 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Los Angeles Film Critics Awards 1999 |url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/award-edition.php?edition-id=lafca_1999 |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=FilmAffinity |language=en |archive-date=2024-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241008180456/https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/award-edition.php?edition-id=lafca_1999 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[1999 National Society of Film Critics Awards|National Society of Film Critics Awards]], and for an [[6th Empire Awards|Empire Award]] for [[Empire Award for Best British Actress|Best British Actress]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best British Actress |url=http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/events/awards2001/nominees/bestbritactress.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020620044453/http://www.empireonline.co.uk/features/events/awards2001/nominees/bestbritactress.html |archive-date=June 20, 2002 |access-date=October 13, 2022 |website=Empire Awards}}</ref> At the [[London Film Critics Circle Awards 2000|London Film Critics Circle Awards]], Morton won [[London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year|British Supporting Actress of the Year]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-02-15 |title=Awards flow for Billy Elliot |language=en-GB |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1172629.stm |access-date=2022-10-13 |archive-date=2020-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103103036/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1172629.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Bjorkman |editor-first1=Stig |title=Woody Allen on Woody Allen |date=2005 |publisher=Faber and Faber |location=London |isbn=978-0802142030}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0158371|Sweet and Lowdown}}

{{Woody Allen}}
{{Authority control}}

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