Not Zaftig

Many years ago -- it might even have been when I was in college -- I saw the Woody Allen movie Zelig. It finally showed up on TCM several months back, and recently I got around to watching it for a second time to be able to do the post here.

Zelig is a mockumentary, purporting to tell the tale of Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a man who was a sensation in the late 1920s but fell out of the public eye. Zelig came to fame because he was a literal human chameleon, being able to change to match the group of people around him. At a society party out on Long Island, he appeared like a rich Republican to the party guests; to the hired help, however, he could fit in as a working-class Democrat. He could even take on some of the physical traits of Asians.

Naturally, all of this interests a lot of people, from the general public who make him a minor celebrity, to famous people who, now elderly, talk about him to a modern-day documentary filmmaker (Susan Sontag and Saul Bellow are among the cameos). But it also intrigues scientists. Fortunately for them, Zelig's problems mean that he winds up getting admitted to a psychiatric hospital, which allows Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow) to treat him, and film the treatments.

Along the way, Zelig falls in love with Dr. Fletcher, and the feeling is mutual. But outside pressure breaks up the relationship, causing Zelig to flee. People keep thinking they see Zelig somewhere, since his ability to fit in makes it a natural for people to think they see him. However, it's only when Dr. Fletcher and her colleagues watch a newsreal of the early days of Nazi Germany that they're convinced they really have found Zelig.

Zelig is interesting in that it was made in the early 1980s, so well into the phase of Woody Allen's career that started with about Annie Hall and marked a decided shift in tone in Allen's oeuvre. However, it often feels much more like Allen's early work. After all, Allen had already made one mockumentary in Take the Money and Run.

Zelig is also a technical achievement, in that Allen combines modern-day footage with vintage material, putting the Zelig character into the 1920s and 1930s at a time before computer editing made this a lot easier. As for the story, I don't think it works quite as well as I thought it did the first time I saw it. And for me, it certainly doesn't work as well as Take the Money and Run. But it's still a worthwhile watch and, unlike the films of some other auteurs, doesn't overstay its welcome. Zelig is definitely worth a watch if you get the chance to catch it.