Crimes and Misdemeanors 2005

Rating: 3/10 (6 May 2006)

*This Comment is ALL spoilers*
Have you ever caught someone doing something unethical, say, stealing something small from a workplace; they rationalize their motives to you, you let it pass, but every time they see you they feel the need to keep re-convincing you that what they did was OK? Well that's what it's been like watching Woody Allen movies lately. Ever since the Soon-Yi thing, Allen keeps making one film after another in which the point is stressed that morality is subjective (if it exists at all) and that there is no punishment or justice for the wicked, merely randomness and the healing blanket of time.
"Match Point" is merely "Crimes and Misdemeanors" with exclamation points and one wonders why Mr. Allen is shouting so loud and so often. Given the brittle framework both films are built upon (We HAVE to believe that no other options are available to the protagonists), one senses that perhaps he doesn't buy into the cold cynicism any more than I do.
Why make essentially the exact same film if one doesn't have anything new to add? As I was watching "Match Point" I was aware that I had been down this road before, but what kept my interest was my certainty that surely a new locale, a younger cast and the passing of 15 years (not to mention a director who had waded through his own ethical quagmire) would bring me to a new place at the conclusion. Not exactly. The biggest twist ending this film had for me was that there was NO twist ending! It was the same pseudo-philosophical clap-trap he'd fed us before (only better). Why didn't he just name it "Crimes and Misdemeanors 2005" and be done with it?
A couple of complaints: 1) I know that women get fooled by bad liars every day of the week, and judging by the throngs populating daytime talk shows, many are knocked up and abandoned by them as well. However, the women in this film are written as such dolts! She  "Are you having an affair?" He- "No, of course not!" Well, that settles that! Every time a man is accused of cheating he will break down and tell the truth when asked point blank. No need to trust your instincts or use your brain, just go exclusively by what your sweaty, pale and shifty-eyed husband is saying.
2) A thriller that relies on deception fails to be very engrossing when, in order for it to progress, EVERYBODY in sight has to be an easily duped fool. If the rich were this unsuspicious of the poor, then every pool boy, personal trainer and yoga instructor in Los Angeles would never mind.
Only rave: The film was beautifully shot and Scarlett Johansson was better than the film deserved.