Whatever Nola wants, Nola gets

Rating: 3/10 (15 May 2006)

Match Point has been hailed as an example of a Woody Allen comeback. If this is the best he can do to remind people of his past glory, it's time to re-release Annie Hall. Aside from the standard Allen cynical and negative world view, this film has uninteresting, cardboard characters who exhibit a complete and utter lack of self-awareness. Allen is apparently so enamored of the British upper class that he endows them with a glamour and cultured elegance that borders on fantasy, and his depiction of women ranges from hysterical to clinging to morally insensitive. Allen's own philosophy is well expressed at the outset by the main character Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), a former Tennis pro who reads Dostoevsky but whose outlook on life is south of Samuel Beckett.
"The man who said 'I'd rather be lucky than good' saw deeply into life", he philosophizes. "People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward and you win...or maybe it doesn't, and you lose." So much for skill, experience, and the power of intention in life. Set in a London that is barely recognizable to most ordinary people, Wilton is hired as a tennis instructor and his first pupil is a member of the wealthy Hewitt family, Tom (Matthew Goode). Affable but rather vacuous, Tom is engaged to be married to the sultry Nola (whatever Nola wants, Nola gets) played by Scarlet Johanssen.
Chris can't take his eyes off Nola but falls under the spell of Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer) who seems to be more obsessed with the idea of love, marriage, and children than with the reality. It is not long before Chloe gets her wish to make momma happy and Chris becomes part of the family, working for dear old dad in the business world. The two seem to share a love of the opera but in a way that is so detached and devoid of emotion they could just as well be addicted to hanging wallpaper.
Bored with the job and guilty about his inability to make Chloe pregnant (another run of bad luck presumably), Chris thoughts turn to the more appealing Nola but when Nola gets pregnant instead of Chloe (darn the luck), some serious decisions have to be made. Try as I might, I found no interest in the characters, their outlook on life, and little concern for how it all turned out. To say I found the ending as appalling as the beginning doesn't imply that I found anything worthwhile in between. The only plus I can allude to is that Allen does not appear on screen. Chalk it up to luck.