Brilliant acting but damp squid ending

Rating: Null/10 (16 November 2011)

I have never been a Woody Allen fan, but this film was different for me. Shooting in the style it was done, with deep warm pastel effects, contributed to an overall dreamy surrealism, compounded by the art and artistry than runs through the film as a theme, that immersed me from the beginning.
The story is simple enough - a take on the eternal love triangle - but far more complex than the usual 3 person affair, and instead creates triangles, and triangles and triangles. Making the triangles even more interesting is some very good, and some brilliant, acting.
Bardem is an extremely talented actor, and he delivers the performance that Allen expects from him. He is operating at all times "in the zone" of his character, but one would expect no less from him.
Scarlett Johannsen get's better as the movie progresses, but the main force of her performance comes from the directors development of the character that she plays, as she progresses from a girl to a woman, sure of herself and the most happy of all the characters, by the end of the film.
The real star of the film is Rebecca Hall though. Her performance is absolute art of acting. The nuances and subtleties of her characters every whim and emotion are brilliantly conveyed by this character actor who deserves many more roles. Rebecca is not a stunningly beautiful woman, and perhaps that helps her work harder to catch the eye. Her character did not appear to be acting - the viewer is drawn directly into her conflicts and desires, and ultimate choices.
Penelope Cruz is a good actor, but the role is almost too easy for her. She is Spanish, and she plays the emotional Spanish relationship "spoiler". I think Allen would have been better served by a less well-known actress for this character. Penelope Cruz is just far too predictable for the role of Maria Elena.
The other cast members do an adequate job in their supporting roles.
Allen develops the story beautifully; it grows and grows, and slowly the viewer gets sucked into the story. However, for the story to be a great one, it needs a beginning, a middle and an ending. We got the beginning and the middle, but the end was extremely abrupt, compounded by the abruptness of the narrators final words to us. Whether this was due to the editor, or the director, I do not know, but I would have felt far more comfortable if the ending had been more fleshed out; the same result would have been fine, it was just delivered too suddenly, as though the movie had run out of time and needed to be stopped immediately.
Overall, I would watch the film again, though.