Woody: an actor's dream come true

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2005)

Over the years, Allen has shown himself as superlative as a director of actors. He gives them scope to explore the wide range of human frailty. This is true in his outright comedies(Annie Hall, Manhattan) his "problem plays" (Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors) and here, in his great, dark drama MATCH POINT. What scene would any of you like to choose for discussion? Is Allen's perception and keen ear for human weakness evident in almost all of them? Witness, to chose but one example in a hundred, the scene in which Nola bitterly reviews her miserable youth and her mother's alcoholism whilst downing far too much wine? Yes, part of it indeed is Johanssen's innate talent, but there is here -as before with Keaton, with Caine, with Farrow, with Wiest- the steady hand of a master who knows how to get the best performances out of his actors. Whew, what a tour de force.