Match Point Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)December 18th, 2005
Match Point
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 3 out of 4
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton
Screenplay: Woody Allen
MPAA Classification: R (some sexual content)
There's no worse feeling for a moviegoer than that of betrayal. I had come to trust Woody Allen's direction, especially after his last two films, Anything Else and Melinda and Melinda. I could rely on this director not to venture into clichéd territory, despite his tendency to repeat ideas and situations. Allen, I thought, was smart enough with his writing to keep his films, at worst, original. But midway through Match Point, Woody Allen let me down. I had been warily led through well-trodden territory up until this point, and fully expected Allen to take a 90 degree turn down Originality Avenue. But there was this pause between two characters, where breaths were held and words itched to be said over the phone (I won't give away the spoiler, but those who've seen it will know the scene). There were two words that every member of the screening-room audience expected; words that I trusted Allen not to write. But alas, Allen had written these words and let me down, spoiling the well of this otherwise sobering film.
Much of the publicity surrounding Match Point has laid in Allen's decision to set the film not in Manhattan--his regular stomping grounds--but in Europe's New York City equivalent, London. This choice, however much it advantages the narrative, is essentially a misstep for Allen. Manhattan is what makes Allen's films identifiable. The city is essentially another character; a tangible, romantic mass of lights and buildings that gives his films the romantic kick other director's couldn't dream of mustering. And although Allen's Manhattan often departed from New York's actual realities, his imagining of the place was quixotically fascinating. This element is missing from Match Point. Where Manhattan would breathe life into Allen's characters, London is rambling and formless. So, in Match Point, the city is, quite simply enough, just the city.
The story surrounds retired Tennis pro Chris Welton's (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) adulterous involvement with the Hewett family. He first meets the family at a tennis lesson he instructs, with Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) as his pupil. The two find they have a common interest in opera, and Tom invites his coach to box seats with the family at that evening's show. There Chris meets Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), who immediately takes a liking to her brother's newfound friend, and invites him to the family's countryside manor for the weekend. At the manor, however, Chris runs into Nola (Scarlett Johansson), Tom's tasty devil of a fiancé. As is customary with Allen films, our hero falls in love. But soon he's engaged to Chloe and rising quick in his father-in-law's business, earning money and becoming a beloved part of the Hewett family. But Chris is no ordinary hero. In fact, he's just closer to ordinary. Thus, he launches a steamy affair with Nola, reaching around all the Hewett family and starting a downward spiral very unlike Allen's quirky romantic comedies that are smeared about film history.
Despite my squabbles about betrayal and inadequate cities, I found Match Point to be a solid film. His screenplay, although relying on contrivances to forward its story, succeeds in its tragic, sordid tale of a love-torn man. Fortunately, Allen doesn't strive for tears or mish-mashy melodrama, but approaches his subject with a hefty dose of irony; a smart choice, considering the story is neither strong nor affective enough to warrant much emotional response. The narrative reads more like a strange and squalid tale a wife tells her husband in a lowered voice at a Manhattan dinner party. It's a meaty piece of gossip expanded into beguiling narrative. But admittedly, Match Point ages well. Over the course of the three days I've spent toying with this review, I've come from being sternly sure of a 2.5 star rating to contemplating a gallant 3.5 stars (even though the star rating is a kind of obsequious endeavor). The film absorbs well, keeping with you for a time afterwards, slowly revealing its nuances in our memory.
Allen often becomes inspired by the women he casts, seeming to place them on his mantle to work as his muses. This time around, blossoming starlet Scarlett Johansson takes the job, sparkling in her role and putting on yet another new face as the reluctant seductress Nola. As usual, our hero (or anti-hero), Chris, seems strikingly akin to the Woody Allen of a younger time, with the female attraction just another of his many fantasies put to paper. But Allen's a proven, delectable writer that can piece together a three-dimensional character at the tip of a hat. These characters are alive and rich with Allen's iconic ironies and quirky imperfections.
Match Point isn't the greatest entry into Allen's filmography; but check back in a few years from now. Maybe the film will have aged like fine wine, grown to something of a masterpiece in my mind. It may just be that Match Point needs to breathe.
- reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
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