Woody Allen takes my virginity...wow does that ever sound wrong?

Rating: 8/10 (24 August 2008)

As huge a film buff as I am I am almost sure I have never laid eyes on a Woody Allen film. I think I might have seen bits and pieces of Match Point but that's the closest I've ever came. So I decided while in the city to see Vicky Christina Barcelona and change that once and for all. I know Allen's reputation...obscure and candid visions of love and reality and life and in that way I think Vicky Christina Barcelona fits Allen's genre profile perfectly. It might be different for him but it's the same idea and the message is blindingly clear in a droll, sarcastic, almost darkly comedic way. Life's perfection is in the eye of the person living it. Fortunately the film finds it's way into being not just some piece of Allen art but actually pretty entertaining. I hesitate to refer to it as a romance because of the twisted nature of the whole thing but isn't that just the entire idea of an Allen film? Certainly the third part of the film's title helps the entire idea and that's Barcelona. The stunning cinematography and beautiful Spanish setting is fun to watch and just very lovely. I did learn a great deal about Woody Allen fans as people around me of all ages laughed to tears like they were watching a slapstick Steve Carell movie. I mean Allen's sense of humor is not slapstick by any means and while the humor was very tongue in cheek and more something you'd smirk at these people thought it hilarious.
Rebecca Hall is really terrific as straight laced, level headed Vicky who does everything in her power to convince herself and her best friend that life is black or white and never gray. Hall doesn't really shoot to the forefront of the film but she is still really good and does a great job supporting the stronger cast. I'm not sure though that she could carry a film on her own. Still within the cast she is good. I admit that I figured no matter what I thought of my first Woody Allen movie I knew it couldn't be that bad cause I would have Scarlett Johansson to look at. I mean remarkably the girl is talented despite some obscure choices in the roles over the years but the drop dead sexy, voluptuous blonde bombshell does a great job playing carefree, and morally obscured Christina. The role seems to fit her very well. She is lovely to watch and her character is fiery and keeps the story moving at a great pace. Javier Bardem takes a big turn from last years disappointing No Country for Old Men, as free spirited Spanish artist Juan Antonio who has some passionate views about true love and the likes. Bardem looks remarkably sexy and has a very passionate affair with Johansson and has good chemistry with both girls. He does a terrific job in his role and no one else could have given the performance like he does. Penélope Cruz gives a mind blowing incredible performance as Bardem's completely unbalanced passionate Spanish ex-wife Maria Elena. She is the highlight of the film completely and utterly. The film builds her character for a good portion of it, her wild personality and Bardem's turbulent and passionate relationship with her that you figure the actual appearance of her and the relationship would be anti climatic but that isn't the case at all. Bardem and Cruz are fiery and passionate and darkly hilarious. Christopher Evan Welch also adds to the Allen style as the monotoned but perfectly added Narrator to the entire story.
The characters are all very different, each with their own view on life, and each in their own place and this one trip to Barcelona effects each one of them in a different way. In the end do any of them learn anything about love? I kind of think...no. Allen's film could be intellectually debated for hours but it could also just be watched and enjoyed although some might find the story a little juvenile and the movie moves kind of slowly. The hour and a half feels like two hours easy. One of the most shocking parts of the entire film is all the rumor and barrage of media coverage about a "steamy scene" between stars Cruz and Johansson which I can promise you never happens except for a very brief kiss that is hardly erotic at all. It seems that a lot of film buffs and critics are doing what tends to happen with artsy movies and that is they are making a bigger deal about it than it deserves. While it entertains and has some interesting intellectual properties, it isn't mind blowing, nor does it revolutionize film making. It's just a good movie period. 8/10