An Engrossing, Brilliantly Played Work of Chamber Music

Rating: 10/10 (26 April 2006)

Woody Allen is always at his finest when he stays away from self-parody: the man can write and direct brilliantly and create solid gems of cultural/society examinations with the best of them! MATCH POINT is a case in point. From the opening credits, to the keenly meaningful voice-over about the significance of luck in molding the course of our lives, to the arresting pause of a tennis ball frozen in its rise from a struck net before falling to either side, to the use of scratchy Enrico Caruso recordings - all of these are indications that Allen is about to lead us into a world defined by walking on razor blade edges. Match Point is an intelligent, burnished, glowing little masterpiece of movie making, a thriller that keeps the viewer bound until the surprise ending.
Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, groomed and handsome and magnetic in his first role as a non-quirky oddball) is a lower middle class ex tennis pro who begins his new life as a tennis teacher in a wealthy club where he encounters the Hewett family, a family of immense wealth lead by a benevolent father (Brian Cox), a class conscious mother (Penelope Wilton), a handsome son Tom (Matthew Goode) who is dating a middle class American wannabe actress Nola (Scarlett Johansson), and daughter Chloe (Emily Mortimer). Chris' good looks and manners win the family's affection and he is melded into the fabric of wealth through his attention to Chloe and his movement into the father's business. Sadly for all Chris is attracted to the sensuous Nola who, despite her physical attraction for Chris, knows the steps to climb up the ladder to wealth by being engaged to Tom.
Chris falls in love with his new life of luxury, marries Chloe who wants to have children immediately, and yet he lusts for Nola. In time Nola and Tom part (the reason to be outlined later in the film) and though hesitant to shake Chris' marriage to Chloe, Nola becomes physically involved with Chris. The inherent dangers of Chris' infidelity grow to tragic proportions and his knotty dilemma of choosing his new life of comfort versus his lust for Nola result in bits and pieces of luck that determine the outcome of the film.
For this viewer it is difficult to fault any aspect of this film: the cinematography by Remi Adefarasin is not only stunning visually - it also captures the tension of the film in mixing tight shots with panoramas isolating the characters in motion of betrayal; the film's music score is almost entirely opera excerpts from old Caruso recordings (know the opera excerpts and the story is enhanced!) and from 'live' stage performances at Covent Garden (superb singing and staging oddly accompanied by only a piano!). But the brilliance of this ensemble is Allen's keenly sensitive eye and timing and pacing of a suspense thriller that always has as its base a fine dollop of social comment and lusty romance. The cast is impeccable, from the consistently superb smaller roles to the tour de force acting of Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, and Emily Mortimer. This is clearly one of the finest works of Woody Allen's long career and hopefully he will continue along this vein. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp