"The eyes of God are on us always," Judah Rosenthal's dad told him growing up. At the turn of the century, the Rosenthal family seems to be divided in terms of how they view their faith. Judah's dad is a strict follower: "If a man performs an act of evil, God sees. He will be punished for eternity."

Judah's aunts and uncles vehemently disagree — "Only if he's caught will anyone know that he's done evil." Clearly, Judah faced disagreement at his own dinner table, which might explain why he flip-flops about believing in God so much.

Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) is a respected ophthalmologist with a posh home in Connecticut, a wife of many years (Miriam, played by Claire Bloom) and a thriving practice. Two years ago, however, he was enticed into an affair by an airline stewardess, Dolores (Anjelica Huston).

In the heat of some intense sexual moments, Judah started making promising commitments to Dolores. When she finally insists on collecting, Judah stammers, asking her to be realistic. Dolores threatens to expose Judah's indiscretions. After years of hard work building up his practice and his marriage, he rebuffs the idea that one impropriety will ruin him. He mulls over two options: taking Rabbi Ben's (Sam Watterson) advice and confessing all to his wife or calling on his brother, Jack (Jerry Orbach), to exercise his Mafia connections and orchestrate a hit on Dolores.

Woody Allen has already established the two themes of the movie. "Crimes and Misdemeanors" explores the "convenience" of God and the indisputable need in this world to be loved. In a broader sense, the film examines how choices people make establish their moral universe.

Characters line up behind the opposing points at the Rosenthal dinner table. Jack, who is connected to the mob, feels no guilt unless he is caught. The same could be said for Lester (Alan Alda), but in a different way. As an independently wealthy and successful producer of TV shows, Lester's glad-handing of people, his serving of his libido and his determination to become richer presumes that he does not think he will be judged for his greediness by a higher power. His only guilt comes when Cliff (Woody Allen) compiles a documentary on all of Lester's most licentious moments, making Lester aware of how he is sometimes perceived.

The other side of the Rosenthal dinner table (the side that the God-fearing Judah's dad represented) may be Cliff Stern. Cliff is a struggling documentary director who has a fetish for consuming a movie almost every day of his life. His guide in life is the creation of his own moral universe, which is dominated by his feelings of love. While his expressions of love cause him some awkward moments, he is nevertheless accepting the responsibility that it is "up to us to make happiness exist." Joining him is Dolores, who is an "emotionally hungry" woman that has found true love with Judah. As Professor Levy (the subject of a Cliff Stern documentary and philosopher on life, love, and religion) explains, "Happiness does not seem to be in the world's plans. The universe is cold; we need love."

Judah does not relate to Dolores' sense of needing love. He felt that need once, but that was when he thought he felt a void in his life. When Jerry suggests "whacking" Dolores to solve his problems, Judah is conflicted. Judah never picked a side at that dinner conversation; his conscience hints at an evil-punishing God. Judah makes his decision, however, with the stipulation that "God is a luxury I can't afford," agreeing to fund the murder. A shot of Professor Levy's interview follows, offering a haunting postscript: "God cares but he demands you act morally."

Judah is conflicted after the murder, but soon learns to forget about his guilt after a couple of months. He has finally picked a side: religion, just as it was to his aunts and uncles, is merely a superstition. Judah relies on the non-existence of God. Maybe he knows best as an ophthalmologist; after all, are not the eyes the windows to the soul? If Judah has not found God after years of being an eye doctor, no wonder his guilt is assuaged so easily.

For Cliff, his search for love ends in a depressing manner. The woman he married, he does not love, and the woman he thought he loved, Hally Reed (Mia Farrow), learned to love someone else (in this case, the "archenemy" Lester). Seated at a piano, Cliff crosses paths with Judah Rosenthal. Judah, cognizant of Cliff's profession, pitches the last four months of his life as a movie: "the perfect murder." Cliff rejects it as being too unbelievable.

For him, the movie of Judah's life would end with a confession of his bad deeds to the police. For Cliff, a confession will be good in the eyes of God. For Judah, if there is no God, there is no need for a confession. Cliff should have known better: he has seen enough movies to know that is indeed the perfect ending.

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