Match
Point (***)
review by Jon
Waterman
Tennis instructor and former professional player Chris Wilton
is trying to find meaning in his life. After a meeting with
a wealthy student Tom brings him in contact with Nola, he just
may have found it. The only problem is that Nola is Tom’s
fiancée. He knows that the best way to stay in touch
with her is to wed Tom’s sister Chloe, and so he does.
Unfortunately, that only complicates matters, because now not
only does he have an insatiable desire for someone other than
his wife, but he also has to deal with married life and the
high level job Chloe’s father arranged for him. He can’t
fix this problem simply by hitting the ball to the other side
and hoping they mess up.
This is the un-Woodiest Allen like movie I’ve seen.
Granted I haven’t seen all too many, but it seems to
break a lot of what seems to be his conventions. The most noticeable
is that it’s not shot in New York, but that’s hardly
the most important. I do think that to an American audience,
the unfamiliarity of the London setting adds more tension in
the moments that need it. The most prominent change is the
lead character. There’s no hint of the nervous, unconfident
man who fumbles his word with awkward social graces. Jonathon
Rhys-Meyers (“Bend
It Like Beckham,” “Velvet
Goldmine”) plays Chris 180 degrees away from the Allen
typical lead. That’s not to say he doesn’t have
his neuroses. After all what would a fascinating character
be without flaws, but I’ll let you watch the movie to
discover those.
The directing style also seems to have changed. I found this
to be more like what your typical drama/thriller might look
like. All the close-ups, cutaways and insert shots made it
anti-Allen. That’s not to say it’s bad. In fact,
I found it refreshing to see that he is capable of breaking
free of the conventions he seemed to have set for himself.
Then again, I could be wrong and maybe he’s done that
before. He probably has. Either way, it was shot rather conventionally
and if anything needed improving, I would recommend that be
given more flair or originality.
That’s really a minor point overall, because it’s
still a very effective movie. It may not be Woody Allen’s
best work and certainly not his most groundbreaking. But paired
with “Melinda
and Melinda” he’s shown this
year that he still knows how to make good films under a wide
reaching umbrella. “Match Point” probably doesn’t
deserve any major awards, but it certainly deserves a look
by Allen fans and newcomers alike.
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