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| Release Date: |
December 28, 2005 (LA/NY) |
| On DVD: |
April 25, 2006 |
| Genre: |
Suspense, Drama |
| Running Time: |
124 minutes |
| MPAA Rating: |
Rated R for some sexuality. |
| Director: |
Woody Allen |
| Writer: |
Woody Allen |
| Cast: |
Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton |
Scarlett Johansson ("The Island"), Jonathan Rhys-Meyers ("Bend It Like Beckham"), Emily Mortimer ("Lovely & Amazing"), Matthew Goode ("Chasing Liberty"), Brian Cox ("The Bourne Identity,", "The Bourne Supremacy") and Penelope Wilton ("Iris," "Calendar Girls") star in "Match Point," a new dramatic thriller from writer/director Woody Allen. "Match Point" is a drama about ambition, the seduction of wealth, love, and sexual passion. Perhaps most importantly, however, the story reveals the huge part luck plays in events, refuting the Read more
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Movie Review
Grade: A
Given Woody Allen's recent track record, no one saw "Match Point" coming. Sure, "Small Time Crooks" and "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" were amusing, but "Hollywood Ending" was a disaster. People have been saying that Allen's best work is decades behind him. And then there's "Match Point." Read the full movie review
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User Comments & Reviews
Over-RATED, by Griz Bear Man
June 8, 2006
In 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+
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