Woody Allen's film noir

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2011)

It surprises me that this movie has not received more attention because it is a major departure for Woody Allen's career as a director and a very dark and brooding film that has more in common with Double Indemnity or The Postman Always Rings Twice. It is not a comedy but it does borrow on some of the themes in Allen's previous movies, particularly Crimes and Misdemeanors. It also deals with London's version of the artistic crowd he casually mocks in his New York movies of the 1980's. The climax is one that could have appeared in a film noir of the 1940's.
The dialogue is witty and the cast is excellent with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Scarlett Johanssen in the leading roles as two newcomers to London society whose paths converge, then change and finally come together again leading to a bizarre twist of fate at the end. Matthew Goode and Emily Mortimer as brother and sister are both excellent and round out the leading players. Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton are Mr and Mrs Hewett, the society couple who bring Rhys-Meyers into the family firm.
I found the lives of the family that Rhyss-Meyers married into somewhat shallow and this was no doubt Woody Allen's intent, reflecting his distaste for families with social status. Rhyss-Meyers finds it "boring" as he puts it, and seeks out an unconventional girl from Boulder, Colorado for some excitement and falls madly in love with her. He cannot bring himself to abandon the perks that come as a member of his new family and this leads to rather grim consequences with one person finding unusual good luck.