Let’s start with a disclaimer – I don’t know a whole lot about Woody Allen movies. In fact, I’ve only really seen maybe a handful of them. What I know most about Woody Allen is that he’s a notorious filmmaker. Notorious for what exactly, I don’t know. But from the little I do know, his latest film Match Point is quite the departure from his norm.
Despite my limited exposure to Woody Allen, I had high expectations for Match Point. From the moment I first saw the trailer, I knew it would be the one Woody Allen movie I just had to see. It had all the makings of a great movie for me: sex, mystery, intrigue, thrills, Scarlett Johansson (could she BE any hotter these days?), British accents and a notorious writer/director doing something new and different. The critical buzz surrounding the film paired with waiting for it to finally be released here in Seattle had gotten me giddy with anticipation.
How I was feeling before seeing Match Point this weekend was akin to the intense build-up in the movie. It’s a familiar story, really, of rags to riches. A young Irishman named Chris Wilton with nothing but a tennis racket and a dream, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, enters a world of snooty privilege when he meets Tom Hewett, played by Matthew Goode, at a country club in London where he has taken a job as a tennis instructor.
Tom is impressed by Chris and his ability to hit the ball over the net with such ease, and he invites him to attend an opera with his family, who just happen to be extremely wealthy business owners. Chris gets in good with the family, including Tom’s sister Chloe, played by Emily Mortimer. Chris and Chloe are attracted to one another and they develop an intense relationship right off the bat.
But then Chris meets Nola Rice. Nola, played by the luminescent Scarlett Johansson, engages Chris in a sensual first encounter over a game of table tennis. Then Tom enters the room and quickly quells the intense passion the two have frothed up in a matter of minutes by reminding her that she is his fiancée.
Nola is a struggling American actress trying to make a name for herself in London. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that she has attached herself to the well-to-do Hewett family, much like Chris has been enveloped by the family who view him as someone who could easily be groomed for greatness. Nola’s impression on the Hewetts isn’t so positive, and they see her as a climber. At any rate, Nola and Chris are outsiders, and the two are instantly attracted to each other. Of course, that’s where things get complicated.
Article comments
1 - Ray
Nice review, Jenifer. I didn't hate the movie, but I didn't think it was as "great" as other critics said it was. I think it's just that it's different than what Woody Allen has offered in the past. I enjoyed certain aspects of it. But over all, I think the movie is overrated. Closer was a better film about infidelity. Fatal Attraction was a better thriller about infidelity gone bad. The Talented Mr. Ripley was a better film about pathelogical liars who go to the extremes. Like you, I also don't feel anything at the end, except some anger -- while clever, the ending was not very satisfying.
2 - Lynne
I was confused by one glaring problem: was an autopsy done on Nola and did the police know that she was pregnant? If so, how could they dismiss the possibility that Chris killed her.
Otherwise I liked the film, altough my DVD skipped a part. When he threw the ring towards the river, it was so large that I thought it was a bracelet.