Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway tells the tale of an aspiring playwright (John Cusack) who quickly discovers he has no talent, even as he schemes with the mob to finance his first play. Eventually, he soon falls into adultery and plagiarism, along with all the typical jabs at the moviemaking business typical of a Woody Allen picture on the subject. However, at the same time, it also discusses ideas of how to find one's calling in life, and how our passions may not necessarily be our strengths. In that sense, it touches on ideas of eudaimonia - the enlightenment and fulfillment we feel at living the life we should - as well as Neitzscheian notions of greatness in the face of moral ambiguity. Bullets Over Broadway uses the character of David Shayne to explore achieving greatness through dubious actions and associations, as well as the frustration of not being fulfilled at doing what you want to do.
The character of Shayne is a fundamentally flawed one - vain, naive and idealistic, he soon falls into terrible habits and questionably moral acts as a result of his desire to become a famous playwright. Shayne himself is trying to accomplish or achieve eudaimonia, "excellence" or "virtue." According to Plato, eudaimonia is something that all men aspire to - all of our desires being fulfilled, and being ultimately happy (Apology). However, these things are prevented by the virtues of justice and conventional morality. David Shayne, wishing to reach his own fulfillment, skirts by these moral quandaries and gets wrapped up in the mob; he enlists their help financing his first play in order to get his foot in the door. Furthermore, he begins sleeping with his leading lady (Dianne Wiest), without considering the feelings of Ellen (Mary-Louise Parker), his lover. These actions are taken to achieve eudaimonia, as they sidestep what is right for what fulfills him most.
Along the way, Shayne hits many roadblocks in his quest for fame; the most fundamental of these is that he simply cannot write well. It is only by the happy accident of his gangster friend Cheech (Chazz Palminteri) being a very intelligent playwright himself that he can release a quality product. Shayne takes credit for these accomplishments himself, putting to peoples' minds the idea of whether or not his play is still great if it did not come from him. With this in mind, we happen upon Neitzschean ideals of making a life a "work of art," reveling in the mistakes and triumphs of the normal life. In this case, Shayne is infinitely frustrated that he cannot produce his own art, but he manages to accept the tragedy of his own circumstances (his genius coming from somewhere else) and runs with it wholeheartedly.
In conclusion, David Shayne's story in Bullets over Broadway shows a desire to reach eudaimonia at any cost, even through adultery and crime. The frustration he feels at not being a genius is replaced with his acceptance of the tragic circumstances that surround him, something couched in Nietzschean philosophy. All of this culminates in Shayne's ultimate decision to walk away from this life forever, changing his sense of eudaimonia to be with Ellen, and alive.
Works Cited
Allen, Woody. Director. Bullets Over Broadway. Miramax Films, 1994. Print.
Neitzsche, Friedrick. The Birth of Tragedy.
Plato. Apology.
