Match Point


Synopsis
This is a standard cheating movie. Set in London, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a tennis pro who makes friends with a rich socialite, Tom Hewitt, marries his sister and has an affair with his fiancé. When his affair with Tom’s American fiancé, Nola (Scarlett Johansson) becomes complicated, he takes some drastic measures to ensure his place in London society.


Observations
Encouraged by the stellar reviews I read, I popped in this DVD expecting some movie magic. Unfortunately the magic of this movie is more like kid’s birthday party magic than David Blaine-type magic – obvious, juvenile, and unconvincing. This movie tries to be so many things and fails at them all. It’s not a thriller a la Hitchcock. It’s not erotic (sex in the pouring rain in a wheat field? Come on!). It’s not suspenseful. The actors are cardboard cutouts of people, not completely fleshed out.

I was perhaps most disappointed in my girl, Scarlett Johansson. I don’t want her to be the kind of actress that only plays one character -- dewy young seductress. Lost In Translation is a spectacular movie. The Murray/Johansson combination is a marvel to watch. But why is she type-casting herself?? A Love Song for Bobby Long, Girl With a Pearl Earring, In Good Company – it’s the same character over and over. Where’s the Johansson of Ghost World?

Jonathan Rhys Meyers has never particularly impressed me and this movie is no exception. His character, Chris is a milquetoast, indecisive creep. His development (or lack thereof) throughout the movie doesn’t make his choices in the end of the movie convincing. I found myself at the climax of the movie yelling “Bullshit” at my laptop. It just doesn’t ring true.

The use of opera in this movie was highly annoying. I can believe that the characters love opera, but Allen uses it again and again as a device to try to create and build tension in his otherwise pithy plot. It comes off heavy-handed and obvious.

I don’t get Woody Allen. I think we have deified him as a director, ergo everything that comes out of his head is a contemporary classic. Be brave, readers – be willing to second guess a movie with a famous director.

Spoiler Alert
The thing that bothered me most about this movie was that Jonathan Rhys Meyers didn’t get caught. He wasn’t part of upper crust society; he was a poser and a wannabe, a man married to money. Perhaps this was Allen’s way of telling us that Chris Wilton has made it into society. Perhaps it’s another of Allen’s attempts to hammer home the luck theme. Either way, it just didn’t work.

Rating:

Amazon's entry for Match Point