Something different from Woody

Rating: Null/10 (16 October 2010)

I'm not a constant Woody Allen fan - so I loved "Hannah And Her Sisters" and then was disappointed by "Scoop" - but this film, which he both wrote and directed, is something different. Of course, it does no harm that it is full of attractive people - Rebecca Hall as the restrained Vicky and Scarlett Johansson as the impulsive Cristina, two young American friends spending the summer in Catalonia, plus Javier Bardem as Juan Antonio and Penélope Cruz as Maria Elena, Spanish artists who once had the near-prefect marriage - and of gorgeous locations - Gaudí's Barcelona, of course, but also Oviedo and Avilés.
What makes the movie though is the relationships and inter-relationships, mainly between these four colourful and contrasting characters but also between Vicky and her fiancé and an older American couple who seem to foretell where one of the young women is going. The acting is very naturalistic and the script has its fair share of humour in a narrative that presents a shifting kaleidoscope of emotions. When the shaking stops, how different will things be? You might be surprised ...