Match Point (2005)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Boring

Absolutely Fantastic

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Say what you want about Woody Allen, the guy makes some good films. He makes some bad films too. Heck, he's made a movie every year for the last four decades, there's bound to be one or two stinkers in there. But Match Point, for my money, is his best yet.It's just so different. It is his most different work from anything else he has done and, unlike his other films, it is not immediately identifiable as A Woody Allen film, if not for his name in the credits. That's a good thing by the way. Different is good.But moreover, it's different from anything I've ever seen before or since. Not so different that it feels TOO different. It's still very fun, unpredictable, and keeps you on the edge of your seat right up until the end, and then sends you home with a an ear-to-ear grin on your face. See it if you haven't yet. Tell your friends to see it. It's very good.

Woody Allen is not a director whose films I am familiar with, but the first one I have had the pleasure of seeing is something both smart and funny. Some may find the humour on show, off putting but me I found it extremely amusing and refreshing to what most films call comedy these days; especially during a scene involving Meyers and a shotgun that reminded me of the great film 'American psycho' from the year 2000.The first half hour is pretty simple but effective, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Chris Wilton) is not sure what he wants to do with his life when he moves to London, during which you see his character getting use to London and meeting new people, like where he meets Tom Hewett played by Matthew Goode at a members only club in a friendly tennis match; in which they become good friends and the family introductions are all done and so forth, then he has a liking for Tom's sister played by Emily Mortimer which ends up with them together, but only later does he meet Tom's fiancée (Nola) played by the beautiful Scarlett Johannsson and has already fell in love with her on their first meet, however as it all unravels you get to see a terrific drama with a comedic tone, some very good romance and a truly great scene involving Johansson and Meyers when they finally kiss and make out in a field during heavy rain.The acting is very good, with some other notable performances from Brian Cox (Eleanor's Father), Penelope Wilton (Eleanor's mother), and Ewen Bremmer as a detective to name a few. However Johansson and Meyers chemistry is even better with both of them giving highly respectable performances and contributing to some of the best moments in the picture. During the first half I kept thinking this is extremely predictable but still completely enjoyable, but by the end I literally ate my words, as the second act and most notably the surprising third act had me on the edge of my seat; and I kept thinking Allen, your script is pure genius, not only did you give us an entertaining film, you gave us a highly entertaining, great piece of filmmaking with a remarkably engaging plot. There's plenty of energy within the cast, it's cleverly written, smartly directed and like I mentioned very amusing with plenty of refreshing dialogue; Match Point is simply a great film.

Woody Allen is amazing in the sense that he writes the same story for decades with slight discrepancies and varying plot twists. Therefore it is no surprise that once in a while these stories would resonate with any viewer. In the case the viewers have the patience to watch them all, that is.Anyhow, Match Point is one of my favorite Woody Allen movies. For some reason it struck a chord, whether it was the circumstances i was in or the situation it depicted.At the time i was interested in business in a broad academic sense of the word. An the fact that a business degree might merely be a ticket to ride the train of the big bucks has been underlined by the movie. The main protagonist enters that world due the fact that someone with a position liked him, not because he has any knowledge about anything relevant.The impending global financial crisis that ensued a couple of years after this movie was one of those moments where viewers might even claim how Woody Allen predicted it all.On a more basic level, the sexual tension between Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and his ambivalence towards Emily Mortimer were depicted amazingly. Otherwise some thoughts on crime and punishment are showcased, a somewhat omnipresent motif in Woody Allen's work.To sum it all up, if you like the movies by the same author, you'd like this one. Otherwise you might be looking for another movie...

ALLEN ENTERS NEW TERRITORY WITH "MATCH POINT"Viewed at 2005 San Sebastian Film Festival featuring centenary homage to Alfred Hitchcock. Though there were no films by Hitchcock on view, several films are in a way a homage to the master. "Match Point", the latest from Woody Allen is a vast departure from his usual form and is, in effect, a Hitchcockian suspense thriller filmed in London no less, with an entirely English cast except for a smashingly sexy Scarlett Johansson in a most uncharacteristic vamp role, as the sole American presence – (and what a presence she is!). At a turning point in his life, an unscrupulous social climbing former tennis pro falls for a scrumptuous femme-fatal type (Scarlett Jo) who happens to be dating his new best friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law. Her blatant irresistibility forces him to tread a skittery fine line between acceptance or expulsion from the high society he has edged his way into -- like a tennis ball teetering on top of the net at a decisive win-or-lose "match point". Also the metaphor for which way the evidence will fall when he is a suspect in Scarlett's shocking but necessary murder. Young Scarlett really sets the celluloid aflame in this stylish shot out of Mr. Konigsberg's Twilight Zone, with sensitive support from Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the freaked-out lover-killer who in the end will go unpunished. Woody has strayed from comedy before with mixed results but this no-nonsense edge of the seat entry into typical Hitchcockian territory demonstrates his versatility as nothing before. The tennis background is perfectly employed to a breath-taking conclusion where a tennis ball teeters momentarily on the top of the net and can fall either way. Johansson, moreover, pulls out all the stops and shows she can act as well as just look gorgeous — and sexier than ever as a scheming heartless femme fatale. Hats off to both Woody and Scarlett for a perfectly realized neo Film Noir. Alfred would have loved it!An extra dessert for Opera fans; Since both leading men are opera lovers the musical score is made up entirely of opera excerpts with remastered Caruso recordings and oodles of Verdi arias commenting subtly on the proceedings of this amoral operatic film noir masterpiece.