Cardboard characters in service of a not very credible plot, creaky doalogue, but Emily Mortimer's performance transcends the plodding script.

Rating: 4/10 (5 April 2006)

Much of your enjoyment of Woody Allen's latest movie may hinge on whether you find Jonathan Rhys Meyers attractive and/or charismatic. I fail on both counts. It's a good looking, but pedestrian drama, in which JRM plays Chris, a gloomy, charmless parasite, who takes about 7 minutes of screen time to worm his way into a well-to-do British family. They all (mystifyingly) find him charming. He marries the daughter (the excellent Emily Mortimer), and lands an executive job in daddy's firm. Meanwhile, he's in lust with a sexy, wannabe actress (Scarlett Johansson) and is torn between her and his well-heeled home life. Many familiar sequences ensue, and most opportunities for suspense are either ignored or fluffed. Although there is some tension, and a few amusing moments, overall this is a plodding morality play, in which the cardboard characters are in the service of a not very credible plot. The actors do their best, but the story requires their characters to be so unaware of Chris's odious personality, and anti-social behavior, that it's almost comic. There's no chance anyone will misinterpret Woody's message, because everything is spelled out and underlined  especially the bald reminders of what a huge part luck plays in life. Get lucky, give this one a miss.