Out of place, Woody is lost

Rating: 2/10 (21 November 2009)

I love Woody Allen films and whenever a new film by him comes out, I am rooting for him to produce something great again, so when I heard good things about this I was looking forward to it. I hated it. The plot is predicable noir, with some of Woody's clunkiest dialogue ever. The pressure, given the genre, is on the leads to smoke up the screen. The lovely Scarlett is quite well cast and suits her role physically, but there isn't much chemistry with Jonathen Rhys-Meyer. What can you say about this guy. Truly dreadful. His lines are poor in the main, but he makes them seem worse. The scenes with him and Scarlett should lift the film and give it a heartbeat, but they seem under-rehearsed and wooden. Its like watching a school play. He may have the looks, but next time Woody, cast an actor please. This guy just wrecked your film. Together with that, Woody Allen love him just doesn't have the feel for London that he has for New York. Johannsen's Fulham flat is a cheap dump? Come on! Anyone who live in London would be able to tell you that that place would cost a fortune and a student would NEVER be able to afford it! So the film is rendered out of touch and lacks all credibility. The tennis metaphor, to finish off, is rather flimsy and lacking any resonance, unlike a lot of Woody Allen's work. Altogether one for us fans to gloss over and forget.