Polished, yes... Noir, sort of.... A masterpiece? far from it.

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2006)

So, I heard about Match Point awhile ago from Golden Globes buzz, and decided to go out and rent it. I've never seen a Woody Allen film before in my life, so I wouldn't find myself being biased just because of the name behind the camera... and because of that, I can say that while the film was OK, it's nowhere near perfect.
The only thing I will really say about this film, without giving too much away is that what keeps this film from being truly great, is character and plot development. When I watched it, I felt that everything moved along a little bit too cleanly, and a little bit too much like a movie. Maybe that was the point... maybe it wasn't supposed to mimic life as much as I would have liked it to but, with the exception of the last 30 minutes of the film (which did keep me wondering what would happen... and held my attention), everything's cleanly cut, cleanly shot, and is the same married man has affair story... needs to/wants to end it....and not much more.
For a more interesting twist on this particular plot, and the consequences of it, see the masterful Diane Lane in "unfaithful"... it's more raw, and hits the viewer's core a bit stronger than this piece, which might have worked better if released about 15-20 years ago.