How does he do it? Woody Allen has been churning out a movie a year since the late 60’s, typically one little gem after another, that is until the last decade or so. Ever since Deconstructing Harry, the quality of Allen’s films have gone downhill. He didn’t make one movie I didn’t like before Deconstructing Harry. Since that one, there have only been two or three, with Match Point being the clear favorite, and the underrated Curse of the Jade Scorpion coming in after that. Cassandra’s Dream, while not a great movie, is a hugely entertaining thriller that proves once again that Allen might be more talented as of late with drama instead of with comedy.

Who’s ever wanted to watch Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell together in the same movie for two hours? I know I have. And if you’re a fan of either one of these guys, you will delight in seeing them play off of each other in this. McGregor and Farrell play brothers, the former a more confident businessman and the latter a brooding, down-on-his-luck garage mechanic. They look kind of like they could be brothers, and their chemistry together is exciting to watch. They are also cast in the right roles, as it’s much more fun to watch McGregor as the more confident one, instead of the  seems-a-little-bit-cocky Farrell, who has a good time playing a guy who’s afraid and unsure of himself.

We get to see these guys living their lives for awhile, as Ian (McGregor) romances and falls in love with an actress he meets after seeing her at her bare and riveting play, and Terry gambles more times than he should, which eventually finds him in trouble. The brothers share a dream of owning a boat, appropriately named Cassandra’s Dream, and they want to find the right time to buy it. Tom Wilkinson, playing the boys’ uncle, brings forth the film’s main conflict, when he asks the boys for a little favor. It seems that a person is willing to testify against him in a lawsuit that could bring down his entire career. He needs Ian and Terry to… well… dispose of the problem. These are two normal guys who’ve never even harmed anyone before, and now their uncle asks something like this of them? They both need their uncle’s help, so it’s a decision they can’t make lightly.

While there’s very little thematically in Cassandra’s Dream that hasn’t been done before, and better, like in last year’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, it’s an engaging thrill ride that never falters. Allen has visited this kind of territory before in movies like the aforementioned Match Point, and his masterpiece Crimes & Misdemeanors, so storywise there’s nothing too shocking or original to behold here. Technically the movie is fine, with some nice cinematography and editing, and a memorable score by the great Philip Glass. But the joy of this film is in the performances of McGregor and Farrell, who latch onto these characters with the greatest of ease, and we completely buy their goals, their dreams, their eccentricities, every step of the way. By the time we get to the end of their arcs, we understand how they’ve arrived at the newfound doom their selfish choices have put them in. And we know there’s no going back.

Woody Allen already has another film in the can entitled Vicky Cristina Barcelona, starring Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johannsen (an Allen favorite), and the Oscar-nominated Javiar Bardem, due for release at the end of the year. And he’s already prepping his next film to be shot this summer. At 72 years of age, the man just isn’t slowing down. Even though some of his work lately hasn’t compared to his earlier work, particularly in the 70’s and 80’s, the man still has a lot to say, and I’m with him from now to the end. He’s one of the best there is.