Match Point

Match Point

9.5 out of 10

Running time: 2:04

MPAA rating: R (Some sexuality.)

Peruvian rating: Mayores de 18

Cast: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton.

Directors: Woody Allen
Script: Woody Allen

Photography: Remi Adefarasin
Distributor: Dreamworks

I must admit I haven’t seen much of Woody Allen’s work. The thing is, I know it is a crime for a decent movie critic not to have seen Allen’s most famous films, but at least I know about them, and I plan to see them in a near future. For the moment, at least I can say I’ve seen Allen’s best flick in the last few years, Match Point. Most film critics and audiences agree on the fact that the movie is the best Allen flick in years, and although I can’t make that statement – because the only other Allen film from the 90s that I have seen is Mighty Aphrodite -, what I can say is that Match Point is an excellent motion picture. Unlike other crappy Hollywood films, Match Point doesn’t require explosions and shoot-outs to be a compelling, interesting thriller. Performances are awesome, Allen’s direction is masterful, and the movie as a whole is amazingly entertaining and gripping. Most people say this is Allen’s first masterpiece in like fifteen years and, given the evidence at hand, I definitely agree.

The film tells the story of Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a retired professional tennis player who has become a tennis teacher at a British club. One of his first clients is Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode); they seem to become friends and Tom invites Chris to the opera, where they discover they have a lot of stuff in common – love for opera, classic novels, etc. Eventually, Chris meets Tom’s family: his father, Alec (Brian Cox); his mother, Eleanor (Penelope Wilton); and his sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer). Chris and Chloe begin dating, and while the girl falls in love with the dashing Chris, the man only feels affection for her, not passion. He does know that marrying her would be beneficial for him, but something happens: Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), Tom's American fiancée, makes an appearance, and Chris is immediately attracted by her. Although he’s about to marry Chloe, he becomes obsessed with Nola, something that might bring lots of problems to this whole business.

These kinds of movies depend on the performances of the main actors and, fortunately, Match Point has strong enough performances for it to work admirably. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is really good as Chris, making the character likable and, along with the screenplay, well-developed, despite his numerous flaws. The character is a complex one, a man that doesn’t shy away from taking advantage of other people in order to become more socially acceptable. Scarlett Johansson is really great as Nola Rice; apart from being extremely hot and sexy – even the script admits this fact -, the woman is really talented, and this talent of hers is shown in this flick: Nola is another complex character, a needy and resourceful kind of woman, who can’t get separated from Chris despite the “illegal” nature of their relationship. Emily Mortimer’s character is “softer” and less complex – all she wants is to have children with Chris – but Mortimer’s performance is by no means bad. Supporting performances by Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton are welcome and provide with some class to the proceedings.

Like I said before, Match Point is a really compelling thriller, although a slow-burning one at that. Some people relate the word “thriller” with explosions, shoot-outs, deaths and lots of noise. Well, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Match Point proves that a thriller doesn’t need all those things to be tense and suspenseful; character development and performances make the movie work, and the plot is interesting and well-developed enough to garner interest from the viewer. Additionally, the movie’s final scenes are surprising, to say the least. I definitely wasn’t expecting a whole lot of things that eventually occurred in this film. The best thing about the twists, though, is that, unlike in the movies of M. Night Shyamalan, for example, they don’t make the viewer feel cheated.

Technically, Match Point is beautiful, and definitely a change from previous Allen efforts. Jazz doesn’t make an appearance, being replaced by Opera. The incursion of this music is effective and evokes the feelings of the characters during the right scenes. Photography is amazing and direction is superb; Match Point is definitely one of the better-looking Woody Allen movies ever, and some of the images the movie presents are memorable.

I was surprised by Match Point. Having only seen a couple of Woody Allen movies before, I was expecting something totally different. Maybe this is the reason why the film is so compelling and entertaining: because it’s different from the average Woody Allen flick. Performances are great, photography is beautiful, characters are well-developed and interesting, and the plot is surprising and sometimes even shocking, making the viewer interested on the characters and their situations, and providing with an unexpected, effective ending. I hear Allen’s next efforts, Scoop and Cassandra’s Dream were pretty crappy. It’s a pity. Match Point is an excellent motion picture, and I hope good ol’ Woody managed to make the upcoming Vicky Cristina Barcelona at least as entertaining as this motion picture.