In yesterday’s comment thread under “Says Wrong Thing, Works Anyway” post, Grandpappy Amos wrote that Woody Allen‘s Crimes and Misdemeanors (’89) qualifies as an ethically flawed artistic success because it “shows that evil seems to get actually rewarded.”

This morning I replied as follows: “Incorrect. Crimes and Misdemeanors is about negotiating an arrangement with ‘the eyes of God.’ It’s about the ability of a wealthy and respected man (Martin Landau‘s “Judah Rosenthal”) to lapse into panic and rage and finally evil in order to protect his status and income. It’s also about how guilt can drive a person half-crazy until, like a fog lifting, it all seems to lessen and then more or less evaporate. So evil isn’t ‘rewarded’ but afforded a certain accommodation.”

Wiki slice: The universe is a dark and indifferent place which human beings fill with love, in the hope that it will give meaning to the cavernous void.