The 2009 American comedy film “Whatever Works” was
directed and written by Woody Allen and is set in New York. The main character Boris Yelnikoff is performed by Larry David and shows a divorced, misanthropic chess teacher and former Columbia professor who leads an eccentric life. Avoiding human contact as far as possible he rants to anyone that listens primarily his few friends, the audience and his chess students. After his first marriage he jumps through a window to commit suicide but a canopy saves his life. Later he meets several other women that turn his life upside down. Finally, enjoyment works”. In this grand movie Woody Allen creates a very pleasant atmosphere with subliminal, black humour. Boris’ statements and rants are so dark that I was not sure at first whether to laugh or to become clinically depressed. Plot, characters and issues that are discussed seem to be old fashioned but I would say that topics like religion, love, human beings and their behaviour in society -especially when you watch such eccentric and withdrawn like ones the in strange encounters New with othersare timeless and even more interesting if they are presented in a setting scenery of York with Allen’s unpredictable blackish humour. To be honest, this movie is not a very appropriate one for young children because nature they and would would be not shocked by the the protagonist’s radical understand Boris that concludes you can, that that you you have have to to find find all the “whatever
humour. But you could pick individual scenes out of it and show them how people live in America so they learn about the culture and the society in big American cities. They could also complete a gap text while listening to a dialogue.