'Fatal Attraction' for the new mellennium (sort of)
Added 11/21/2009
Director/Writer: Woody Allen
Release Date: January 20, 2006
Genre: Psychological drama
Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Locations: London and the English countryside
THE PLOT: Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is an ex-tennis pro from Ireland and Nola (Scarlett Johansson) a struggling sultry actress from Colorado; both are (unconscious?) social climbers attempting to marry into a rich English family. Chris marries Chloe (Emily Mortimer) even though he passionately lusts for Nola, who ultimately breaks from the family and the UK. When she returns to London Chris reignites their passion, which can only lead to tragedy. And only luck can save him.
"Match Point" is the antithesis of the modern 'blockbuster' and all it's moronic trappings -- there's no quick editting, no CGI, no goofy one-liners, no explosions and no promise of $400 million at the box office. No, "Match Point" is movie-making based simply on good writing and cinematic storytelling. The first hour plays out like a slow, nigh tedious drama but the second builds momentum like a snowball slowly morphing into an avalanche. So, be forewarned, if you don't have the stomach for an hour of soap operatics avoid this movie. For those who do, however, "Match Point" is quite rewarding, unpredictable and original.
Underpinning the drama is the theme of luck. The film starts out with a tennis ball hitting the top of the net; at that point the ball will fall on one side of the net or the other, depending solely on the luck of the player (or so the movie claims). At first, this seems totally unrelated to the story, but wait till the end and you'll see everything connect. It's amazing how good writing & storytelling can create a 'Wow' reaction much more so than the most elaborate overkill action sequence with all its requisite cgi and explosions.
I sensed a somewhat sad emptiness in the characters; most of them are neither likable nor unlikable (although Chloe is super-sweet albeit naive), they're just human beings trying to find meaning and fulfillment, despite their physical riches or lack thereof. Their innate moral compass has been lost with the passing of religious faith and they desperately search for meaning in the secular world of Dostoevsky, Sophocles, the visual arts and Verdi's operas. Only the mother and main protagonist, Chris, come off unappealing; the mother is just annoyingly snobbish, whereas Chris is so blatantly selfish and flat (not to mention unfaithful) I find it hard to believe any of the characters in the story would find him appealing, let alone worthy of marrying into the family and becoming a prominent part of the business.
What's ironic is I strangely found myself rooting for Chris in the final act, which doesn't make sense since I'm completely opposed to his (lack of) character and what he does (I can't say more because I don't want to spoil the film). Or maybe I temporarily rooted for him because, regardless of the outcome, I realize no one ultimately "gets away" with anything in life -- lucky or not.
The love, I mean lust, scenes between Chris and Nola struck me as ultra-steamy and authentic. This is exactly how a man and woman in illicit passion would secretly go at it. Case in point: the 'rain scene' is potent. Needless to say, "Match Point" is a must for Scarlett Johansson fans.
As to the "Fatal Attraction" reference: No, you don't have to worry about psycho slasher cliches. "Match Point" is smarter and more subtle than that; but not all that subtle.
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Woody Allen Outdoes Hitchcock
Added 7/14/2009
Woody Allen in his long sojourn to London found a new genre for him, the suspense lust thriller, when he wrote and directed the superb film "Match Point" (2005) He also developed there the thriller "Cassandra's Dream" with Colin Farrell. With brilliant photography and gorgeous scenes of London he depicts the life of a tennis semi-pro Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a handsome devil with sensual lips, who volleys himself into a life of wealth married to Chloe, the daughter of a moneyed family presided over by father Brian Cox in a thankless role.
Chris is introduced into the family by a young man, Tom, something of a cad and a wastrel, to whom he's giving tennis lessons. The wealthy scion has a stunning girlfriend, Nola, (again with sensuous lips) a would-be actress (Scarlett Johansson). Unfortunately for Chris he falls insanely in love with the money-poor Nola.
His dilemma: Nola gets with child and wants Chris to leave wife Chloe. Danger! Danger! Danger! What is newly rich Chris going to do? Chris is a striver from Ireland who hasn't seen better days yet. At the beginning of the movie Chris is reading "Crime and Punishment." He and Nola are two of a kind, both schemers and opportunists. Nola says, "You'll do very good for yourself unless you blow it." Nola keeps a diary which chronicles her passionate affair with Chris.
Most of the movie is taken up with the smoldering passions of Chris and Nola and his devious tricks to find time with his mistress. Suspense, Hitchcockian, keeps building in the film. Her neighbor, that staple of the West End stage, Margaret Tyzack, gets a quick view of Chris. Chris says, "Faith is the path of least resistance."
The soundtrack has arias from famous operas, often old scratchy ones, that provide a brilliant backdrop to the action and maneuvering of Chris. The ending is full of twists and turns and some really clever bits. Luck plays an important role in Chris's life.
One character at the end quotes Sophocles, "To never having been born may have been the greatest boon of all."
With this movie Woody Allen opened up new territory and gave us a fine motion picture.
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best movie of Woody Allen.
Added 6/12/2009
Probably the best movie of Woody Allen. interesting interpretation of Crime and Punishment from Dostoevskiy
although soundtracks music seems strange choice , may be good for W Allen, not for people who never crave for opera stuff :)))
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A matter of luck
Added 5/15/2009
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro now working at a posh London tennis club. There he meets a wealthy family, befriends the son and romances the daughter. Things are looking good for Chris as he starts climbing the corporate ladder, and then he meets would-be actress Nola (Scarlett Johansson).
I knew nothing of this movie beforehand and assumed it was just a poor-boy-makes-good story; then came the last twenty minutes and I was shocked. The movie changed completely and I loved it. This Woody Allen film has been rightly compared with Hitchcock's work. Indeed, Chris is quite similar to Ray Milland's character in Dial M for Murder; both are charming, retired/washed-up tennis stars-pretty boys who marry well and aren't big on ethics. While both Meyers and Johansson underplay their parts and have little chemistry together, the story is so good that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie is expertly directed and has a strong British supporting cast; heartily recommended.
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been there, done that
Added 4/17/2009
Hasn't anyone noticed that this movie is just "Crimes and Misdemeanors" in London? Woody Allen already explored the fact that bad people get away with crimes and their consciences adjust. In this newest venture he packages it as "it is better to be lucky than good." The nod to Dostoevsky in this one is not even subtle - the character is reading Crime and Punishment right on screen. It is obvious that Woody Allen has discovered the rich get away with murder, but how many times does the audience have to be dragged through it:?
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Enjoyable mystery/comedy with Scarlett Johansson
Added 11/2/2009
"Scoop" is a mystery/comedy/romance written and directed by Woody Allen and released in 2006. Scarlett Johansson stars as Sondra Pransky, a geeky college journalist vacationing in England. She gets a tip from the ghost of a dead newsman (Ian McShane) on the identity of a local serial killer and proceeds to team up with bumbling magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen); the tip leads them to the rich son of a prominent lord, Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), with whom Sondra unintentionally starts to fall in love. Is Lyman the murderer or isn't he?
Although fantastical and somewhat goofy, "Scoop" is first and foremost a mystery and I did enjoy trying to figure out if Peter Lyman is the "Tarot Card killer." In the story we perceive Peter Lyman largely through the lens of Sondra, who is falling in love with the guy; hence, the viewer warms up to him and doesn't want him to be a notorious killer.
"Scoop" is a comedy but not in the laugh-out-loud sense of, say, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"; it's mildly amusing, witty and fun but not laugh-out-loud funny, so if you're looking for the latter don't bother.
The three stars and their chemistry are a highlight. I enjoyed the team-up of Woody (Sid) & Scarlett (Sondra) and their surrogate father/daughter relationship. I knew when I saw "The Horse Whisperer" that Scarlett would grow up to be one of cinema's leading beauties, and so she is! Scarlett was 21 while filming "Scoop" and plays against type; and she does it quite well. The film is worth catching solely for her, just don't expect any raunch or t&a exploitation (although she does have a one-piece bathing suit scene and a nightie scene, which are both rather modest).
Hugh Jackman is a great modern masculine actor, of course, and he does fine here, although I couldn't help wondering if long metal claws would suddenly shoot out of his knuckles!
The London and English countryside locations are nice eyecandy.
The runtime is 96 minutes.
BOTTOM LINE: This is my first Woody Allen film so I'm not familiar with his répertoire and therefore can't compare "Scoop" with his other movies. With this in mind, "Scoop" may not be great or even really good, it is an enjoyable mystery/comedy highlighted by a good cast and locations. "Scoop" doesn't aspire or claim to be anything more and, on that level, I liked it. I enjoyed the characters, their story, the creative zany elements (e.g. crossing the River Styx with the Grim Reaper) and the mounting mystery.
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Very entertaing and interesting
Added 9/13/2009
This was the movie that made me realize that I was a fan of Scarlet Johansson. Though, I suppose one could and should dedicate the greatness of this film to Woody Allen and he has indeed written and starred in yet another good film.
I happened upon this by chance, not sure why it hasn't received more press but it is an excellent mystery, romance, comedy film that is really interesting.
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this has got to be the best woody film. i love it. it's funny and intruging, and scarlett is absolutely wonderful in it- jackman looks as good as ever. a must-see, it's probably a 10+ age limit only for plot complexity and some sensualityScoop.
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