Lucky man!

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2006)

Having avoided Woody Allen's last two films, and because of recommendation from a friend, we decided to give Mr. Allen another chance. With this new film, Mr. Allen seeks to regain his loyal fans by taking them for a ride to England, where probably most of the money for the picture was found. The results are mixed, but not a total failure. It's by no means, the great movie most people are telling us it is.
Chris Wilton is a lucky man! As an old tennis player, he has had it. But like other men in his position, he finds a job in a tennis club as a pro. Since this is a place where the English upper classes go to, it's no surprise he meets Tom Hewett there. Chris has settled in London in order to take advantage of the cultural life there, something he has been lacking of. Tom is instrumental for introducing Chris, not only to the opera performance, but to his family, who accepts him as one of their own.
Chris doesn't appear to be a social climber. It's just that he is at the right place, at the right time. The opening sequence of the movie sets the tone for what will follow. An explanation is heard, about how in a tennis game, the ball that bounces over the top of the net will determine who wins the match. In the ironic twist of fate at the end of the movie, something similar happens, although not related to a tennis match.
Mr. Allen has gathered an interesting cast of mainly English actors that do good work under his direction. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is Chris, the lucky man who charms the pants of the Hewetts. Scarlett Johansson, in one of the sexiest parts she has played, makes a valuable contribution as the American aspiring actress. Emily Mortimer plays Chloe, who becomes the wife of Chris and his entry ticket into a world of money. Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton are seen as the older Hewetts. Matthew Goode appears as Tom. In minor roles we see the wonderful Margaret Tyzack in a pivoting role and James Nesbitt as a police detective.
One of the best things in the film are the wonderful opera arias by Donizetti, Bizet, Rossini, and Verdi. We are even treated to a song from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Lady in White". Remi Adefarasin's cinematography serves the movie well.
One can only hope Mr. Allen has left the neurotics back home in New York!