Nothing new, pretentious at times but enjoyable

Rating: 6/10 (10 February 2011)

Match Point is a UK-USA-Ireland-Russia Co-production, mostly shot in London, and directed by Woody Allen.
The story revolves about a love triangle between young retired tennis player turned businessman Chris Wilton (played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers), his wife the sweet good-hearted rich girl Chloe Hewett (Emily Mortimer), and the bombshell struggling actress and Tom Hewetts' girlfriend Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson).
This is one of those stories we have seen brought to the big screen many times, a Hitchcock's theme in a way, the love triangle, the crime, the coward who prefers his boring loveless wealthy life to start afresh with the woman he dreams about. The first scene of the movie is very philosophical and it is a good premise of the drama that will unfold:
The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. 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.
Luck is more important in life than you can ever expect, and it is always unpredictable and fanciful. In fact, the story is all a story of a very good luck for Chris's character, especially at the end. However, this is a romantic psycho-drama with a predictable plot, so the interesting premise gets diluted very soon. In other words, the movie is too mundane to be philosophical, and pretending the contrary is... pretentious.
The film is shot in a very fresh way, has a nice bright artsy atmosphere and hints of Allen's sense of humor (especially in the policemen's conversations at the end). The actors do a good job in their respective roles, although this is a mini-coral movie. Meyers has a good chemistry with both Mortimer and Johansson, and he's able to portray with believability the double face of a cheater, and also the difference between love and passion. Emily Mortimer shines as a very believable sweet bland woman who is blind to anything she does not want to see. Johansson also shines in her femme fatal role, which she always nails.
The soundtrack is formed for a mix of modern and old opera arias. Carusso's old records are intercalated in the middle of the movie to highlight the actions of the characters. Modern performances are played while the characters attend performances in the theatre or hear some records.
The movie has a nice feel about it, is well filmed, decently acted, and has a good direction. However, the movie does not add anything new to the genre, is too predictable, has a poor script and important flaws in the murder story. A bit dull but enjoyable the same.