A Horror Story for our Times

Rating: 8/10 (20 April 2006)

In interviews and documentaries, Woody Allen has always claimed to believe in the accidental, and thus morally neutral universe. In Matchpoint he gives us a picture of what life would be like in a world "where everything is permitted".
He begins with a reference to Dostoevski who proposed that even if God didn't exist, we would have to invent Him because humanity and civilization are dependent on the belief that the universe is ultimately a just place. Allen has his latter day Raskolnikov make the pronouncement that "faith is the easy way out".
He then provides us a picture of a world where life is inherently devoid of meaning and where the summum bonum is to make lots of money, live well, and to have children, so they can do the same. It is a vacuous life that is hollow at the core and which hardly seems to be worth living.
If one takes his protagonist as a role model, it seems that Mr. Allen believes that the only truly self-actualized person is the psycho-path. Conscience is merely a hindrance that interferes with one's personal development.
Ultimately, Mr. Allen gives us a horrific view of life as he sees it, and inadvertently makes Dostoevski's case for him in a rather brilliant fashion. Postscript. Judging from Cloe's demeanor when she realizes he is having an affair, it is clear to me that he does not have to kill her, If he had simply told her part of the truth, she would have called daddy, who would have called a friend in the home office, and Nola would have been deported and the problem solved.