Match Point DVD Review
**NO SPOILERS**Its all safe here.
Yes, I know I'm a bit late with this one but all things in good time.
If you haven't seen it yet; read on. If you have, weigh in with opinions on the comments page.
First off I'll confirm everything already said by most reviewers; (I think; I don't read reviews for Woody Allen's work) this was a brilliant return to Allen's great talents as a writer of sophisticated grown-up dramas. Think Crimes and Misdemeanors. Think Manhattan. Remember everything you loved about his heyday dramas, like the subtleties of Interiors, or the realness of Husbands and Wives. Now add an english sensibility and some fantastic young actors.
One point I'm going to bring up again so soon is subtlety. After some of his lesser comedies of the past few years Allen should be commended for his restraint in both the writing and direction of this one. He really lets the actors earn their place in the dialogue, which is smart and pithy without being too forceful. Never do the characters feel like stock Woody Allen characters. There are a few inconsistencies but they never seem to draw away from the story.
But first the performances.
Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World) seems comfortable in the role of the flawed femme fatale. You're never sure whether to trust her or not and it's this quality which makes her character so surprising. Like any human being you never know exactly what she's gonna do; but she seems to know and that makes you interested in her. FULL DISCLOSURE: I love her anyway, but I'd be the first to admit if she wasn't up to the material, and she really was. Well done.
Jonathon Rhys Myers (Bend it Like Beckham, Alexander) feels shaky at first. Sure he's gorgeous, and a few of the lingering shots on his pretty punum may lead you to believe that he's there for his box-office appeal, but rest assured he is more than the sum of his physical parts. His characters transformation is (here's that watch-word again) subtle and touching. Frightening even in its implications. It's rare that such an amazing looking actor can be so relatable. I rooted for him every step of the way, good or bad. What does that say about me? After all he isn't the most likable character, but then none of them are. So what does that say about Woody?
True, none of these characters is particularly likable, but this isn't about heroes and villains; it's about what happens when you make choices that don't pan out the way you expected and how you deal with the consequences. It plays many similar themes to Allen's previous work, of course; the most obvious being the moral complexities of adultery. The thrill of it, the excitement when it works, and the regret and despair when it goes wrong. In this story you really feel the fear of losing something so big to the threat of something you thought was so small.
What would you do? And more shockingly how would you explain it? Or justify it to yourself?
There were some trademark Allen shots; I remembered the Brooklyn Bridge scene from Manhattan when characters Chris and Chloe gazed along London Bridge near the beginning of Match Point. To compare the shots is to almost overlay the two together. It's nothing short of an homage to his earlier work (a thematic joke he'd already addressed in Stardust Memories back in 1979).
Also, with setting this film in London you see his same use of the city and it's architecture as almost another character the way he did in so many of his trademark New York films. It makes me excited that he's found another muse; not just in Johansson (Match Point, Scoop), who I love in his films, but in London. Perhaps he's found a whole new city with a million stories waiting to be told.
This is a quality flick, whether you're an Allen fan or not. The question is -crap, there has to be a question- can he return to his genius with a comedy? I want to see another good comedy. I think the man has it in him. He's missed the mark of late, but maybe with a new focus and some new partners he'll also find new life after this. Comedy has become a lot more literal since he brought us Annie Hall and Manhatten Murder Mystery, but with the (here's that word again!) subtlety he brings to Match Point, maybe he's learning to evolve with the genre. I hope so.
I look forward to every new Woody Allen release. With the lateness of this review I guess I just hesitate the way everyone else seems to. Not anymore.
*NOTE*
Woody is currently working on an as yet unnamed project for tentative release in 2007. Comedy? Drama? Nothing leaks from those iron-clad sets. I'll keep you updated.
Yes, I know I'm a bit late with this one but all things in good time.
If you haven't seen it yet; read on. If you have, weigh in with opinions on the comments page.
First off I'll confirm everything already said by most reviewers; (I think; I don't read reviews for Woody Allen's work) this was a brilliant return to Allen's great talents as a writer of sophisticated grown-up dramas. Think Crimes and Misdemeanors. Think Manhattan. Remember everything you loved about his heyday dramas, like the subtleties of Interiors, or the realness of Husbands and Wives. Now add an english sensibility and some fantastic young actors.
One point I'm going to bring up again so soon is subtlety. After some of his lesser comedies of the past few years Allen should be commended for his restraint in both the writing and direction of this one. He really lets the actors earn their place in the dialogue, which is smart and pithy without being too forceful. Never do the characters feel like stock Woody Allen characters. There are a few inconsistencies but they never seem to draw away from the story.
But first the performances.
Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation, Ghost World) seems comfortable in the role of the flawed femme fatale. You're never sure whether to trust her or not and it's this quality which makes her character so surprising. Like any human being you never know exactly what she's gonna do; but she seems to know and that makes you interested in her. FULL DISCLOSURE: I love her anyway, but I'd be the first to admit if she wasn't up to the material, and she really was. Well done.
Jonathon Rhys Myers (Bend it Like Beckham, Alexander) feels shaky at first. Sure he's gorgeous, and a few of the lingering shots on his pretty punum may lead you to believe that he's there for his box-office appeal, but rest assured he is more than the sum of his physical parts. His characters transformation is (here's that watch-word again) subtle and touching. Frightening even in its implications. It's rare that such an amazing looking actor can be so relatable. I rooted for him every step of the way, good or bad. What does that say about me? After all he isn't the most likable character, but then none of them are. So what does that say about Woody?
True, none of these characters is particularly likable, but this isn't about heroes and villains; it's about what happens when you make choices that don't pan out the way you expected and how you deal with the consequences. It plays many similar themes to Allen's previous work, of course; the most obvious being the moral complexities of adultery. The thrill of it, the excitement when it works, and the regret and despair when it goes wrong. In this story you really feel the fear of losing something so big to the threat of something you thought was so small.
What would you do? And more shockingly how would you explain it? Or justify it to yourself?
There were some trademark Allen shots; I remembered the Brooklyn Bridge scene from Manhattan when characters Chris and Chloe gazed along London Bridge near the beginning of Match Point. To compare the shots is to almost overlay the two together. It's nothing short of an homage to his earlier work (a thematic joke he'd already addressed in Stardust Memories back in 1979).
Also, with setting this film in London you see his same use of the city and it's architecture as almost another character the way he did in so many of his trademark New York films. It makes me excited that he's found another muse; not just in Johansson (Match Point, Scoop), who I love in his films, but in London. Perhaps he's found a whole new city with a million stories waiting to be told.
This is a quality flick, whether you're an Allen fan or not. The question is -crap, there has to be a question- can he return to his genius with a comedy? I want to see another good comedy. I think the man has it in him. He's missed the mark of late, but maybe with a new focus and some new partners he'll also find new life after this. Comedy has become a lot more literal since he brought us Annie Hall and Manhatten Murder Mystery, but with the (here's that word again!) subtlety he brings to Match Point, maybe he's learning to evolve with the genre. I hope so.
I look forward to every new Woody Allen release. With the lateness of this review I guess I just hesitate the way everyone else seems to. Not anymore.
*NOTE*
Woody is currently working on an as yet unnamed project for tentative release in 2007. Comedy? Drama? Nothing leaks from those iron-clad sets. I'll keep you updated.
posted by johnnykocktail at 12:17 am
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