Overview
A comedic journey through the life of a jazz genius with a troubled soul.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- witty
- eccentric
- bittersweet
- jazz listening night
- woody allen film night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's charming light comedy, strong acting, convincing musical performances, and especially Samantha Morton's understated presence.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Expert talking-head testimony and retrospective commentary treat fictional guitarist Emmet Ray as an overlooked chapter of music history.
Ray's drinking, kleptomania, rat shooting, and arrogance are counterweighted by his beautiful guitar playing and fragile emotional responses.
Ray is arguably the world's best guitarist while remaining irresponsible, self-absorbed, and damaging to people around him.
Ray's rivalry with the real Django Reinhardt and performances associated with Reinhardt, Grappelli, and Duke Ellington blur fiction and jazz history.
Films like Sweet and Lowdown, and why
Inside Llewyn Davis
fictional musician portrait blending witty comedy, music performance, and self-destructive artistic ego
Zelig
mock-documentary treatment of an artist's inflated persona, eccentric behavior, and cultural mythology
Bird
period music drama pairing artistic brilliance with flawed, volatile personalities and richly evocative performances
The Legend of 1900
charming but melancholy portrait of a gifted musician whose talent coexists with irresponsibility and vanity
Movie Details
- Director
- Woody Allen
- Release Date
- 1999-12-03
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (575)
Cast
- Sean Penn
- Samantha Morton
- Anthony LaPaglia
- Uma Thurman
- James Urbaniak
- John Waters
- Gretchen Mol
- Denis O'Hare
- Molly Price
- Brian Markinson
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Sweet and Lowdown about?
- A brilliant but obnoxious jazz guitarist becomes the subject of a wry faux-biography that finds strange tenderness beneath his vanity and self-destruction.
- What is Sweet and Lowdown like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Sweet and Lowdown as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Sweet and Lowdown violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Sweet and Lowdown as mild.
- What did critics think of Sweet and Lowdown?
- Critics broadly praised the film's charming light comedy, strong acting, convincing musical performances, and especially Samantha Morton's understated presence.
- Which films are like Sweet and Lowdown?
- Films with a similar feel include Inside Llewyn Davis, Zelig, Bird, and The Legend of 1900.
- How long is Sweet and Lowdown?
- Sweet and Lowdown runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch Sweet and Lowdown?
- In United States, Sweet and Lowdown streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
