Match Point
Buy this Double-sided poster at AllPosters.com
Review #14 of 365
Film: Match Point [R] 124 minutes
WIP: $10.25
When 1st Seen: 24 January 2006
Where Viewed: Landmark Metro Cinemas, Seattle, WA
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Review Dedicated to: Scott B. of Chicago, IL
 |
DVD |
Fans of Woody Allen rejoice, his latest film has finally reached wide distribution having been released the very, very end of December on the coasts to get in line for potential Academy Award® nominations. As a young critic, I reviewed Mr. Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo, which I enjoyed. My approval encouraged me to see a few of his other films, and I had actually read and seen a number of his play performed as high school forensics pieces. As the next decade progressed, I found his films uneven, and I sort of put them on the back burner of the ‘must see’ list. I took a risk on his 1998 release, Celebrity, and found it nearly ‘unwatchable’. Match Point, however, had gotten some great critical acclaim out of Cannes etc., that actually I was looking forward to giving it a chance.
In many ways, I found Match Point to be a very different sort of film for Mr. Allen. Set entirely in England (mostly in London) and starring, nearly exclusively, British actors with the main exception being Scarlett Johansson who portrays, not that I’m suggesting there was any intentional typecasting here, an American actress, the film focuses on a young, Irish, struggling, tennis pro, Chris Wilton, played magnificently by the up-and-coming young actor famous in the US for his recent portrayal of Elvis in the mini-series, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, as he becomes inducted into a wealthy London family. During the opening credits, the film asks audiences to consider the role that luck plays in life and teases and taunts the notion throughout. Beginning with Chris’s chance selection as the tennis instructor for the son of a wealthy business executive, their subsequent discovery of a mutual interest in opera, which leads Chris to being introduced to the lad’s sister at the opera, and them hitting it off instantly. Suddenly, an entirely new world opens up for the Chris as he and the sister, Cloe, grow closer and her parents begin to see potential in the young man as a proper husband for their daughter and father for their grandchildren. Going on, on the side, however, there is much intrigue that I will not reveal here. Simply, I will say that the twist and turns of fate or luck make for a most enjoyable series of circumstance leading to a very disturbing conclusion. Stories without heroes occasionally leave me cold. I like to have at least one person to root for. Hence, my disdain for the musical version of Titanic vs. the film version which ranks very highly on my top movies of all time list. In the musical, there was no one to care about, and you knew they were all going to die anyway. In the film version, there was the power of Jack and Rose’s love and every hope that both would survive. In Match Point, there are no characters to rally around. These are all people with two sides--a Jeckyll and a Hyde. It is difficult to see their motivations and what they hope to be the eventual conclusions to their decisions and actions. The role of luck becomes entangled with the choices they make. If I choose to jump into the deep end of a swimming pool without checking to see if there is water, then I am lucky if there is water, but why not just look first to be on the safe side rather than hoping to be lucky? This is the sort of dilemma faced by the main characters throughout the film.
There was a lot to like about this film, and there was a lot not to like. It is quite long for as little that actually happens. The development of the relationships is, at times, painstakingly slow. There was way too much information at times. Some editing here and there could have packaged the story in a bit more concise a fashion with no loss in the final outcome. The acting and directing are quite good, the story is intriguing at times, and forces one to wrestle with the concepts of family loyalty and how far one might go to protect a new found fortune. I would not say this is one of Mr. Allen’s best films, but it certainly is step in the right direction of getting back on track.
Introducing the new Mac mini - Small is beautiful.
Starting at only $599. Available now!
Now Available for Purchase on DVD
Match Point [DVD] (2005) DVD
No comments:
Post a Comment