Uneven, ultimately disappointing

Rating: 5/10 (18 August 2015)

Vicky is a prim, proper, practical woman. She is engaged to the type of man prim, proper, practical women marry. Vicky's friend Cristina is everything Vicky is not. Adventurous, spontaneous and quite willing to hop into bed with some random man she just met. Vicky knows what she wants in life. Cristina is searching. The two friends are spending the summer in Barcelona. Artist Juan Antonio, of whom Vicky and Cristina know nothing other than he tried to kill his ex-wife (or maybe the other way around), introduces himself and suggests the three of them fly off to Oviedo for a weekend of sightseeing and sex. Mostly sex. Vicky is of course appalled. Cristina is of course intrigued. Off to Oviedo the threesome goes, Vicky only agreeing to go along to keep an eye on Cristina. And then things get complicated.
Woody Allen has set up an interesting situation here but the film doesn't live up to its initial promise. Ultimately it is quite a letdown. This seems like a story which should be full of emotion but the movie is oddly flat. The performances of the leads don't help. Scarlett Johansson, playing Cristina, is a blank slate in desperate need of some color. She's quite dull. Rebecca Hall, playing Vicky, comes across somewhat better. It is really left to Penélope Cruz, playing a prototypical Spanish firecracker, to inject some life into the proceedings. The movie noticeably perks up when Cruz is on the screen. Her scenes with Javier Bardem, playing Juan Antonio, have some sizzle to them, a notable contrast to Bardem's interactions with the film's other leading ladies. Cruz brings good energy but not nearly enough to rescue what is all in all a rather boring movie.
While not a total misfire Vicky Cristina Barcelona has too many flaws to be deemed a success. The dialogue is rather pretentious. There is an incredibly annoying narrator who just never shuts up. The story, which seemed to have great promise, ends up falling rather flat. Some of the key performances fail to engage. And in the end it all seems rather pointless, there is no satisfying resolution whatsoever. Cruz and Bardem work well together. Unfortunately that which surrounds them disappoints. You can see potential in this movie. But Allen was unable to put the pieces together properly. One of those frustrating movies which you can't help but feel should be much better than it actually is.