A change of environment proves lucky for Woody Allen

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2006)

Every film that Woody Allen releases is automatically a point of interest for me, especially when the film in question has won itself a lot of favourable reviews. Match Point sees Allen in new territory as his beloved New York has been swapped for London, England. Despite this relocation, however, Match Point is still very clearly a Woody Allen film. The film is mostly a romantic drama, but as the story moves forward; thriller elements start to creep through, and best of all we get a very potent streak of black humour to round things off. The plot typically features the central character in turmoil. We are introduced to former tennis star turned coach, Chris Wilton. He's looking for a meaning to his life and wants to do something different from tennis. After meeting a man named Tom, Chris finds himself the object of Tom's sister Chloe's affections. However, our tennis star has his eyes on Tom's finance; Nola. After having an affair with Nola, Chris finds himself at decision-making time. Because as we all know; you can't have two women for long.
The film starts off with a sequence in which the protagonist tells us about a tennis ball hitting the top of a net during a game. If it carries on going, your luck is in; but if it falls back, it isn't. Woody Allen keeps this luck theme going throughout the film, and the way that he harks back to the opening scene towards the end of the film is just great. Being from the UK myself, I was interested to see how Allen would handle the London setting. I've got to say, however, that I'm a bit upset about the fact that he has decided to set the film in the upper crust of society. It's not so difficult for me to relate to upper class New York because I'm not from America; but as far as I'm concerned, the environment seen in this film doesn't really exist...but at least the English characters have English accents. The acting is fine, with Jonathan Rhys Meyers doing well in the lead role and hitting all the right notes as his character changes his stripes later on. Scarlett Johansson is his opposite number and delivers an emotional portrayal as the put-upon mistress, while Emily Mortimer is suitably posh to round off the central threesome. I loved the way the tale climaxes and I'm glad that Allen didn't continue along the lines that many films of this nature are happy to stay between. Overall, I can't say that this is Allen's best effort; but it's a very good one, and the director has been showing good consistency over the last few years.