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:''For the 1944 Benny Goodman film, see Sweet and Low-Down. For the Dave Van Ronk album, see Sweet & Lowdown.'' ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film tells the story, set in the 1930s, of a fictional jazz guitarist named Emmet Ray (played by Sean Penn) who regards himself as the second greatest guitarist in the world (after jazz icon Django Reinhardt) who falls in love with a mute woman (Samantha Morton). The film also stars Uma Thurman and Anthony LaPaglia. The film, loosely based on Federico Fellini's film ''La Strada'', was one of Allen's best-received dramatic films. Penn and Morton both received Oscar nominations, for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively. Like several of Allen's other films (e.g., ''Zelig''), ''Sweet and Lowdown'' is occasionally interrupted by interviews with critics and biographers like Allen, Nat Hentoff, and Douglas McGrath, who comment on the film's plot as if the characters were real-life people. ==Plot summary== Emmet Ray (Sean Penn) is a jazz guitarist who achieved some acclaim in the 1930s with a handful of recordings for RCA Victor, but who faded from public view under mysterious circumstances. Though a talented musician, Ray's personal life is a shambles. He is a spendthrift, womanizer and pimp who believes that falling in love will ruin his musical career. Due to his heavy drinking, he's often late or even absent for performances with his quintet. After music, his favorite hobby is shooting rats at garbage dumps. Ray idolizes famed guitarist Django Reinhardt, and is said to have fainted in his presence and to have fled a nightclub performance with severe stage fright upon hearing a false rumor that Reinhardt was in the audience. On a double date with his drummer, Ray meets Hattie, a shy, mute laundress. After overcoming some initial frustration due to the difficulties of communication, Ray and Hattie form an affectionate and close relationship. She accompanies him on a cross-country trip to Hollywood, where he plays in a short film; Hattie is spotted by a director and enjoys a brief screen career. However Ray is convinced that a musician of his stature should never settle down with one woman. On a whim, Ray marries socialite Blanche Williams (Uma Thurman). However, Blanche sees Ray mainly as a colorful example of lower-class life and a source of inspiration for her literary writings. She reports that Ray is tormented by nightmares and shouts out Hattie's name in his sleep. When Blanche cheats with mobster Al Torrio (Anthony LaPaglia), Ray leaves her and locates Hattie. He assumes that she will take him back, but discovers that she is happily married and raising a family. Afterwards, on a date with a new woman, a despondent Ray plays a melody that Hattie adored and then smashes his guitar and forlornly repeats the phrase "I made a mistake!" He angrily smashes his guitar to pieces as his date leaves him. Woody Allen and the rest of the documentary experts remarked that Ray's final compositions were legendary, finally reaching the quality of Reinhart's. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sweet and Lowdown」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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