Allen Hithcock

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2006)

The audience wasn't expecting anything quite so restrained from Woody (they were so anxious to laugh they howled at lines such as "Maybe you've had one too many G & Ts," not exactly a zinger by Allen's standards) who proved with Match Point that when he's pushed, he can still hold his own with the best. It seems Allen couldn't get U.S. financing to his liking so was forced to go across the pond to finance this one. Nothing stirs the creative muscles quite like wanting to show others they've made a mistake. Hopefully, Americans will stop financing his films altogether so that Woody can make films in Paris (Everybody Says I Love You doesn't count), Sydney, Berlin, maybe even somewhere in Africa. Of course, the one thing missing when Woody sets his films in other cultures are the witty one-liners he's so famous for, but if the tradeoff is better films for fewer one-liners I support it. With this script, he accomplishes an interesting marriage of manners, romance and Hitchcockian drama, which interestingly enough is the most compelling part of the movie. Really terrific set-up of the ending, which really is ingenious. After watching the Matador on the same day I must say I think the filmmakers are starting to out think the audience again, making for some truly brain-teasing plots. Of note, also are the performances of the actors, who it must be said seem far more comfortable with improvised dialogue than their American counterparts in other Allen films. They seemed to interpret the material in a way that made them all seem colder, yet more interesting. Particular credit should go to the chap who played Tom Errett, who really could be a lead actor and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers who did a fine job in a difficult role. Scarlett Johannsson is brilliant as always, although her descent into craziness may have been a bit over-the-top. What was pleasing was to see a love scene in which the woman is not rake-thin and forced to contort into unnatural positions. She really is a treasure, and I hope the celebrity B.S. doesn't eat her up. She's well on her way to being a screen legend  look for her next in The Good Girl, another British/American manners drama. Woody takes a lot of abuse for not living up to his early promise, not being a genius, etc. I hope after this film, we leave him alone to make his one year a film then watch it and appreciate it for what it is: like a visit from our favourite neurotic uncle. He's still got serious chops, writing, obviously, but as a filmmaker, too. The reveal of the couple's loft and the slo-mo shots of the tennis ball and rink were real signature shots.