Better when it was called "Crimes and Misdemeanors"

Rating: 5/10 (1 January 2006)

IMO Crimes and Misdemeanors is a Woody Allen masterpiece. Match Point takes one plot thread from that film, reconfigures it into a straightforward tale of greed and lust, while drooling over the trappings of upper class English life and the bodies of the youthful actors. There is one clever plot twist, one excellent confrontational dialog scene. The rest is treading water, much of it with head barely above water. If you know Allen's films, and especially Crimes and Misdemeanors, this film will disappoint and depress you as a cynical commercial shadow of that great film. If you are new to Woody Allen the film may entertain in a superficial PBS kind of way. But don't be fooled by the hype. This is not the return of the great Woody Allen of years past. It's the last grab for marketplace share by a sadly fading talent.