Masterful film-making in this romantic thriller

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2006)

Woody Allen's latest opus, MATCH POINT, poses an interesting philosophical question: how much of life is determined by chance or just plain luck? Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers star in this romantic thriller set in London. Originally from Ireland, Chris Wilton (Meyers) is hired on as a tennis pro in an upscale country club. He befriends one of his wealthy pupils, Tom Hewitt, and pursues Tom's sister Chloe, all the while getting drawn into this upper-class world of estates, nice clothes, fancy cars and the box seats at the opera. Chris is integrated into the Hewitt family, an apparent future son-in-law. That is when he meets Tom's alluring American fiancée, Nola Rice (Johansson), who catches Chris's eye. Illustrating a basic male trait, of being able to separate thoughts into "sections," he chases Nola covertly, while marrying Chloe and trying to have a child with her. Chris is given a great office job in the Hewitt company, and is being groomed for future leadership and considerably more wealth. His obsession however with Nola is always present, and he juggles both his boring stable home life, and his torrid affair with Nola. Previous Woody Allen films have handled such infidelity with a bit of comedy and wit. Match Point proceeds into darker territory, with many twists and thrilling turns. Woody Allen transitions into an operatic tone, free of shtick, trading his beloved Manhattan, for London. Woody treats us with the same loving eye for location and storytelling, and surprises you with thick suspense and rich drama. This is Allen's most acclaimed film in years, and marks a return to his masterful film-making form. I greatly anticipated this film, and it did not disappoint.