Woody Allen A travesty of a mockery of a sham

In this meticulous if less-than-convincing chronicle, biographer McGilligan (Funny Man) traces Woody Allen's trajectory from self-deprecating comic through celebrated auteur to Hollywood pariah. Growing up in Brooklyn, Allen became a paid joke writer for a New York Post gossip columnist while still in his teens, and by the 1950s he was writing for numerous TV variety programs. Unsatisfied with the small screen, Allen turned to stand-up comedy before pivoting to filmmaking with 1966's What's Up, Tiger Lily? Thoroughly covering the making of all 50 of Allen's films, McGilligan details how "misbehaving robots malfunctioning props" plagued the shoot for Sleeper, and how an unpublished murder mystery novel Allen wrote while filming Love and Death in Paris transformed into Annie Hall. McGilligan devotes a considerable portion of the book to relitigating the 1992 implosion of Allen's relationship with Mia Farrow after he began an affair with her 21-year-old adopted daughter from a previous marriage, Soon-Yi Previn, as well as the sexual abuse allegations made against him soon afterward by his adopted daughter with Farrow, Dylan. McGilligan's repeated invocation of McCarthyism to describe the inquest into Allen's alleged abuse raises serious questions over whether readers should trust the impartiality of his account, casting a pall over even the robust recounting of Allen's prior life and career. This is more interested in defending Allen than allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. Agent: Gloria Loomis, Watkins/Loomis. (Feb.)

Everything you always wanted to know about the nearly canceled octogenarian auteur and more. A professional joke-writer in his teens who parlayed his comedic talent into writing, directing, and starring in Oscar-winning sweet-and-sour dramedies like 1977'sAnnie Hall, Woody Allen has been--sorry, what's that? You just want to know why you should care about a filmmaker who's been mired in scandal since the early '90s? Veteran Hollywood biographer McGilligan (Funny Man: Mel Brooks, etc.) is plainly a fan of Allen's work, but also comfortable calling out the clunkers in his 50-film oeuvre, and to his credit he goes deep into the actions, alleged and confirmed, that made him a #MeToo target. Confirmed: He fell for (and later married) Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of his longtime partner, actor Mia Farrow. Alleged: That he pursued that relationship when she was a minor, and that he sexually abused Dylan, a daughter he adopted with Farrow, when she was 7. The only convictions came in the court of public opinion, and in McGilligan's reckoning, Allen preserved his demeanor: diffident, a bit callous, and fiercely defensive in ways that belie his nebbish onscreen persona. There's also plenty about his moviemaking in this hefty book, and though McGilligan himself seems to tire of recapping Allen's plots and (with rare exceptions) modest box-office income, he characterizes Allen as being gifted with actors and constantly willing to experiment. To press the case that Allen's work still resonates, McGilligan polled more than 100 film critics and scholars for their thoughts on Allen's life and work. Some demurred, but those who replied celebrated works across his career; recent sleeper hits likeBlue Jasmine andMidnight in Paris made the top 10. Not exculpatory, maybe, but evidence of an enduring artist, however problematic. Comprehensive and disinterested in pigeonholing its subject as genius or art monster. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.