Match Point

Last week A. and I watched the latest Woody Allen film, Match Point. I haven't enjoyed a Woody Allen movie for years - probably since Interiors (1979) - but I should qualify this by saying that I've never seen Hannah and Her Sisters. I really liked Match Point. I'm sure this movie was well-received by critics, although it didn't receive a lot of attention. I recall some critics saying it was a "return to form" for Allen, and placed it in line with other Allen greats like Manhattan, and, of course, Annie Hall. If they mean it was a return to form because he basically remade his two most acclaimed movies of the 70's, I would have to disagree. Match Point isn't Manhattan or Annie Hall, but it does have the Woody Allen stamp. However, I would place it right next to these films in the canon of great Allen movies.

Woody Allen has left his beloved NYC to make films in London. He has said that he made the change because filmmakers no longer have creative freedom in the U.S, and he grew increasingly tired of working in an industry that only cared about profit rather than art. In the U.S. he said studios want too much approval over scripts and casting, and in London he has complete freedom. The only stipulation about working in London is that a certain percentage of the work crew (actors, technicians etc) have to be English citizens.

Whatever situations or events inspired this relocation, the results are indeed transformative. Match Point, in some ways, is a film based on classic themes encountered in Literature and Visual art for centuries: Love, Betrayal, Greed, Lust and Tragedy. Specifically, it centers on a love triangle between a former tennis star who marries a fabulously wealthy woman from a notable family, becomes employed by her father, and has a lusty affair with an American woman living in London. Allen uses this situation to explore these classic themes, and ultimately presents us with a morality play involving interesting characters, situations and superb acting. The movie is elegant, romantic, charming, amusing and wonderfully engaging. It's a drama, comedy, and thriller rolled into one.

Some aspects I liked best include:

The screen presence of the lead actors, Jonathan Ryhs-Meyers, who is so damn cute, with an Irish accent to die for, and Scarlett Johansson, who is always so beautiful and quietly intriguing.

The setting of London. While London, as a city, wasn't as central as Allen's previous uses of NYC (which was frequently another character in some of his films) it was definitely a formidable backdrop. You could get a real flair and flavor of the city as the characters moved around from museums (always in Allen's movies) to restaurants, to work and to the opera.

The opera music that served as the film's score. At first I was a bit put off by this, never having associated Allen with opera music, and not expecting it to be the entire score. However, it works exceedingly well with the classic themes he pursues in the film, particularly tragedy.

Plot execution. This movie didn't neatly follow the standard narrative plot. No, there was no Quentin Tarantino play with plot, but Allen took is own sweet time with the unfolding of events. The murder virtually happens at the very end of the movie, and the resolution is quick, and somewhat incomplete. He spends most of his time on the exposition, letting us know the characters, their connections with each other, their environment, and their mistakes.

The tennis metaphor. This begins and ends the movie, and this metaphor is sustained. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' character, Chris, is a former tennis star from a working-class Irish background. The film begins with commentary about luck and fate, using the tennis net to make this point. Sometimes, when playing tennis, you hit the ball and it catches the net, and for a brief second, is suspended above it. If you are lucky, it will fall onto the side of your opponent but if you are unlucky the ball will fall back on your side. The point is that you don't know which way the ball will fall, - you have no control over this and it could go either way. Just like life. It turns out in this movie, the main charcter ends up being lucky, with the ball falling on his opponent's side. But I can't reveal the details of this because it would spoil the big event in the movie.

I hope Woody Allen keeps making films in London. He hasn't been this creative in years. In fact, I wish all quality American filmmakers move to London where there still is an appreciation of art, and a not-so-monolithic studio system exerting too much control over the project, worrying about how much money it will make.