But what happened after that?

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2009)

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed this movie: I wouldn't want to give the impression that the reservations which follow mean that I didn't.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is essentially a drama, even though the plot sounds more like a French farce - Vicky (Rebecca Hall, tightly controlled, life on a strictly predetermined plan) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson, chaotic free spirit) are students, lifelong friends who go to Barcelona for the summer prior to Vicky marrying fiancé Doug that autumn. They are propositioned by charismatic artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem): Vicky is appalled but Cristina happily goes along with it. Before their liaison is consummated, however Cristina falls sick, at which point Vicky suddenly and unexpectedly drops all her defences along with her knickers and enjoys a night of passion with Juan Antonio. This is strictly a one-off, and Juan Antonio resumes with Cristina at a later date. At this point, his ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) arrives on the scene following a suicide attempt. Juan Antonio and Maria Elena are inextricably bound together: soulmates who cannot live without each other, but cannot live together either. It turns out that Cristina is the essential catalyst in their relationship, and they fall into a three-way relationship which works. By this time Doug has arrived in Barcelona and he and Vicky have had a quickie wedding despite the fact that her one night stand with Juan Antonio has lit something of a fire in her. Cristina tells Juan Antonio and Maria Elena that while the relationship may work for them, it's not what she wants, so she goes off for a couple of weeks to find herself. They fall back into old ways and Maria Elena steams off after another row. Vicky visits Juan Antonion to try to scratch the itch he has created: before they can do so, Maria Elena appears and shoots Vicky in the hand. The two girls and Doug go back to the US.
The film has a very strong sense of its Spanish location, and all the cast are attractive and perform well, particularly Penelope Cruz, whose Maria Elena who is either excessively emotional or else mildly disturbed.
The main problem I had with this movie was the lack of resolution. The characters are interesting and the dynamics between them are entertaining, but not that plausible. To then be served up with a realistic ending - in that everyone simply gets on with their lives with no resolution to any of the arcs which are set up and pursued - is, I felt, cheating the expectations of the audience.
The other problem I had was that all the main American characters - both girls, Doug, the narrator, and Patricia Clarkson as host Judy - all delivered speeches at different points by way of Woody Allen impressions. The aping of Allen's distinctive stammering self-deprecating delivery was so marked that it can only have been intentional, and it was so out of place each time that it pulled me out of the movie.