Susan Granger’s review of “Match Point” (DreamWorks)
Woody Allen gets his groove back by leaving New York and creating his best film in years.
Set in London, this psychological thriller revolves around ambitious Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a rather unscrupulous, Irish working-class tennis pro who marries Chloe Hewett (Emily Mortimer), the sweetly pampered daughter of a posh, privileged English banking family, while casually falling in love with his amiable brother-in-law’s sexy blonde fiancŽe Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), a struggling, self-doubting American actress. But much to the besotted cad’s horror, their torrid affair leads to a ruthless and terrifying ultimatum from the neurotic, increasingly desperate femme fatale: either leave your wife – or else!
The film’s poignant undercurrent is the capricious concept of dumb luck, noting, “The man who said, ‘I’d rather be lucky than good,’ saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It’s scary to think so much is out of one’s control.”
While maintaining a subversive comedic banter amid the “Crimes and Misdemeanors” meets Alfred Hitchcock-like concept, Woody Allen captures the wistful, melancholy tone, utilizing London’s gray, often cloudy skies, working with an almost exclusively British cast and crew, including cinematographer Remi Adefarasin and production designer Jim Clay. And the vintage operatic soundtrack of Donizetti and Verdi supplies an intriguing counterpoint to the melodrama. The adroitly cast actors are excellent, particularly Scarlett Johansson (“The Island”) who has already signed on for Allen’s next film, “Scoop,” a romantic comedy. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Match Point” is a chilling, riveting, mind-teasing 10, one of the best of 2005.
