Outstanding!

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2009)

"The man who said I'd rather be lucky than good saw deeply into life."
Those words, spoken in the opening narration, are the premise for Woody Allen's powerful thriller "Match Point." Everything that happens in the film is based on luck, whether good or bad, and how the characters respond to it.
Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is a retired tennis pro who gets a job teaching tennis at a posh country club in London. There he meets rich kid Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), and they become fast friends. Chris falls for Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), but then he meets Tom's fiancée, Nola Rice (Scarlett Johannson), and an affair begins.
To say more would be unfair, but let's leave it at saying that Allen knows what our expectations are, and plays them against us.
"Match Point" demands patience, and for the first hour, is rather slow moving. However, this allows us to intimately know the characters. But more importantly, it allows Allen to pull us in without us really noticing. Allen sets the stage early, but he turns the wheels ever so slightly, so that by the time the film really gets going, we're completely hooked without realizing that Allen was drawing us into his web.
The acting is the most crucial part of the film. Woody Allen creates complete, three-dimensional characters on paper, but it's up to the actors to bring them to life. Fortunately, Allen has gathered a first-rate cast that is more than up to the task. Scarlett Johannson continues to impress as the seductive but unstable Nola. Nola could have been a one note plot contrivance, but with Johannson's performance (helped along by Allen's brilliant script), Nola is refreshingly real. Emily Mortimer is one of the most underrated actresses living today, but thankfully her performance in "Match Point" changed that. Chloe is an optimist who is completely in love with Chris, but she is completely oblivious to her husband's extracurricular activities. Matthew Goode shines as the immensely likable, but unintentionally snobbish Tom. It's no surprise that Chris would take a liking to him. Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton offer solid supporting turns as well, though their characters are strictly supplementary.
But this film belongs to Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. He got his break playing the soccer coach in the international hit "Bend It Like Beckham," but here he is allowed to display his true range, and his performance is superb. He may not be present in every scene, but the whole film revolves around him and the decisions he makes; some of them are beyond his control, but others determine the course of events. This is a man who is held hostage by the decisions he makes, and desperately tries to find a way out from the unforeseen consequences. It is always a risky endeavor to have a single actor to carry the film, but Rhys-Meyers is more than up to the task. It is appalling that his work was unrecognized by any of the major awards.
This is the first Woody Allen film I've seen. Apparently, Allen is known for his comedies, but if anything, "Match Point" proves that when it comes to film-making, Allen has considerable versatility. His script is brilliant, and his direction is not far behind. He is a master of developing characters, but some of the scenes are cut a little too abruptly. However, these are small blemishes on an otherwise superb production.
"Match Point" demands a lot from the viewer. But if you're willing to give it a chance, it will not disappoint.