Match Point (2005) - Movie Review
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"Match Point" is not a comedy. Nor does it look or feel like a Woody Allen film. Allen never appears in the movie, even though he wrote and directed it. About an affair that goes dangerously wrong, "Match Point" follows Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) as he moves up the social ladder, a la Becky Sharp. Starting out as a tennis pro at a prestigious London facility, he soon falls within the friendship of Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), a young man from an extremely rich family. Chris begins a relationship with Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), but soon realizes he really has eyes for a struggling American actress named Nola (Scarlett Johansson) - unfortunately, Nola is Tom's fiancée. While his relationship with Chloe turns to marriage, Chris and Nola's love for one another develop to an even stronger level, but the affair threatens to destroy Chris and the entire Hewett family. With everything on the line, Chris must make a difficult decision to save everything...
Spellbound. I was absolutely spellbound while watching this movie. I was expecting a good little romantic thriller, but not an amazing drama that deserved its Golden Globe nomination. Strangely enough, I watched this movie the same day I watched "The New World" - my number one pick of the year. "Match Point" is a close second. I waited for more than a year to watch an award-worthy film, and was fearing I would see none for the year of 2005, but in the same day I saw my first and second picks. Needless to say, it was a good day...
Rhys-Meyers is terrific in the lead, exuding an innocent sleaziness that makes us root for him even though he's cheating on his wife. His character ends up having little redeemable value, but at the same time he is essentially a good guy who has made some fatal mistakes. Johansson is good in a supporting role, though compared to some of her other performances she neither shows the talent nor gets the chance to really shine. Other cast members including Goode, Mortimer and Cox are very good in their respective roles.
On top of everything else, kudos have to go to Allen for delivering a surprise out of left field. The movie plays out like an old-fashioned thriller, complete with opera music and static cuts. He takes his time developing the characters and the situation and never rushes to get to the purpose of the film, while at the same time maintaining a good pace. It was amazing how into the film the audience got - people would laugh, people would cringe, and people would just react in various ways to a variety of events in the movie. When Chris makes his big decision, "Match Point" also becomes extremely tense and suspenseful, and things don't let up until the closing credits.
"Match Point" is one of the best movies of the year.
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Anonymous says:
June 8, 2006In college basketball, some highly ranked teams are greeted with the taunt "Over-RATED!" when they tank in a big game or against what should have been an outclassed opponent. While "Match Point" does not even come close to sinking so low as "Closer"--a movie with characters so vile that the only possible happy ending would be that they all killed each other (as another user of this site pointed out), I find it difficult to admire this film, which I believe basically tanks. The main problem is I have little sympathy for the main character Chris Wilton, who takes advantage of golden opportunities by being stupid. He is basically a cad, a climber, and we are treated to two hours of watching a jerk at work, plotting out his ill-advised afffair with Nola (Scarlett Johansson). The brain-dead movie critics tout this as a story of great passion but basically the guy is a loser and his alleged passion is in truth nothing but a display of high-class shabbiness and callowness. I would rather not spend my time watching a jerk at work.
The one brilliant stroke in the film is the allusion to Dostoevsky's great novel "Crime and Punishment." It is brilliant because those who have actually read the novel are going to have a much different perception of the movie than those who have not--I won't give away too much, but the difference is that the ending is not what is seems to the viewer who has not read "Crime and Punishment." Moreover, the unread viewer will never know!!!! That part was absolutley great and, for me, saved the film from being totally forgettable.
The acting is so-so. Scarlett Johansson struggles as much in the movie as her character struggles to get through an audition (which are, thankfully, left off screen). Basically, the cast turns in some flat, one-dimensional acting, it is not bad acting but also not great. The best of them is Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Chris Wilton, but Mr. Rhys-Meyers wastes his talent on a loser.
I liked Woody Allen's funny films better--always have. He has a wicked sense of humor and a real feel for outrageously comedic situations. His forrays into adult, serious, Bergmanesque film-making are at best mildly interesting--and the best of those was "Hannah and Her Sisters." As for me, I'll take "Play It Again, Sam" and "Annie Hall" anyday. Those will remain for me his two greatest films and some of my all-time favorites. Even the sometimes clunky, sometimes wonderful "Melinda Melinda," nearly universally panned by the brain-dead movie critics, is a better film, and one that showed that Woody Allen has not completely lost his touch.
Rating:
Two stars (* *) out of four
Grade: C+