Crime and Misdemeanor

Film Response – Crimes and Misdemeanors (Final Draft)                                                

In the film Crimes and Misdemeanors, director Woody Allen, poses the question to the audience, “Is there is actually a God or “an objective moral structure” which deals with your moral decision.” Judah, who lived a successful life as a famous ophthalmologist, commits adultery and later, a crime by relieving his girlfriend, Dolores through an act of murder, thus saving his reputation and family. Once he sees the dead body of Dolores becoming more aware of his actions, he falls into an ethical dilemma and asks his brother Jack whether he should turn himself in or not. Through Judah’s guilt consciences and his fear of “God knowing everything”, Allen tried to say that there is “an objective moral structure”, However, Jack’s response to Judah brings thought back to the question. Jack says, “Since no one would know that you killed her, it is okay not to feel guilty about your action.” It sounds like the morality is really based solely upon on the eyes of mere humans rather than God’s eyes. This implication is repeated throughout the movie as Judah recalls his childhood memory at the dinner table, when he inquired what happens if someone murders. His aunt says if a person can get away with his sin and chooses not to care about the morals of ethics, then he is guilt free. Just like her point, Judah inherently binds himself with his own morals, and he goes back to normal life with his family. The film’s depiction of Dolores’s death without provoking any sympathy also really makes Judah justifiable. Overall, the film did good job in answering the question of moral standard. In the beginning, the film tells that there is “an objective moral structure” by having a guilty consciousness coincided with the idea of punishment. However, the ending of Crime and Misdemeanor criticizes how people blind themselves from their unethical actions and justify themselves with their own morals with excuses.