Match Point
Generally, I dislike Woody Allen’s films. However, I heard that Match Point was a completely un-Woody-Allen-ish Woody Allen move, and so I went to see it last weekend. Basic idea: guy fails as a professional tennis player, lands a job in London as a tennis instructor, no money, no prospects, crummy apartment. Meets a rich fellow. Insinuates himself into rich fellow’s family. Marries rich fellow’s sister. Gets a cushy job in rich fellow’s father’s company. And to top it off, boinks the rich fellow’s fiancee on the side, thereby endangering everything else he has achieved. The movie might start out like a boring romance, but by the end, turns into quite … something. Even if you are allergic to romantic films, you will love it. Especially if you are allergic to romantic films, for that matter.
There is much to like in the movie. The cinematography is flawless. The actors are all good. The plot follows Chekhov’s principle (”if a gun is hanging on the wall at the beginning of the story, by the end of the story it must fire”) to the hilt, and all elements of foreshadowing are done very tastefully. There is irony, there is humor. The movie even presents an interesting ethical challenge. Finally, there is Scarlett Johansson (who plays the rich fellow’s fiancee).
Perhaps the only weak point of the movie are certain parts of the dialogue. In particular, whenever the characters speak about business ventures, management, etc. it becomes clear that Woody Allen (who also wrote the script) doesn’t know much about business matters. However, most of the dialogue is handled very well — the characters’ words feel like the perfect balance between a real-life conversation and a theatrical performance.
Basically, Match Point is brilliant, and if you do not see it, you are doing yourself a disservice.