Yo soy Woody Allen

Rating: 9/10 (10 October 2008)

After three years in England, Woody Allen ends his European vacation (his next feature, starring Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, is set in New York) in Spain, and delivers his freshest, funniest comedy in eleven years (the wonderfully self-deprecating Deconstructing Harry came out in 1997). In reality, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (the title alone borders on genius) contains nothing completely new for an Allen film: love, unhappiness, neurosis, chronic dissatisfaction. But instead of remaking one of his older New York films with younger actors (Anything Else compared to Annie Hall, for example), he uses the new, more romantic setting to breathe fresh air into the age-old story, supported by a fiery cast.
As implied by the title, the main characters are Vicky (Rebecca Hall), Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) and the city of Barcelona, where the two spend the summer together. Vicky, the more rational one, is there to work on her university thesis (Catalan lifestyle) and take some time off before her imminent wedding. Cristina, who is more impulsive, came along to have some fun. Through one of Vicky's relatives (Patricia Clarkson, always as good) they meet an up-and-coming painter, Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem), a man who embraces the positive aspects of life despite believing it to be ultimately pointless. In a classic Allen scene, he invites Vicky and Cristina to come with him to Oviedo for a weekend, explaining they will enjoy the sights, the food, the wine and, uh, the lovemaking. At this point, a mildly shocked Vicky asks: "Excuse me, but who's gonna make love?" Juan Antonio, as serious as a horny Spaniard will ever be, replies: "Hopefully, all three of us."
Revealing anything else about the unusual threesome is a disservice to Allen's witty script. An exception would be mentioning that halfway through the movie Juan Antonio's psychotic ex- wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), comes back home, and that's when the real madness ensues and one remembers why they fell in love with Woody's movies in the first place. For years, his modus operandi has been: take a relationship, mess it up, see what happens. Perhaps the fact that he doesn't play the leading role anymore (in fact, like in his best post-2000 film, Match Point, he doesn't appear at all) has encouraged him to try "crazier" things. In this case, the Spanish setting and the casting of Cruz (whom he wanted to work with at all costs after seeing the beautiful Volver) enable to him to blend his classic "neurotic love story" with a sort of spoof of the telenovela genre, following the example of the TV show Ugly Betty (which, like most of Allen's work, takes place in the Big Apple). The Spanish actress, matching the feisty intensity she showed in Almodovar's black comedy, is on top form, giving a spontaneous, wild performance that should earn her a second Oscar nomination. Not that her American co-stars are less good: Johansson cements her status as the director's new muse with a vitality that shows how terrific she can be when cast in the right part, while Hall, who is actually British, channels early Diane Keaton (from Woody's golden period) with grace.
And what about the male cast? Well, there are only two presences who are prominent enough to rival with the Johansson-Hall-Cruz trio: Bardem and the omniscient narrator. The latter is actually a problem sometimes: it's fine, even entertaining, when he deadpans on events as we see them happen on the screen (especially when he describes an encounter between Cristina and Juan Antonio), less so when he insists on telling us exactly how the characters are feeling. Fortunately, Bardem compensates that occasional lack of charm by exuding loads of it: obviously relishing the opportunity to lighten up his image after his Oscar-winning turn in No Country for Old Men, he replaces that film's icy stare with a smile that could seduce anyone and speaks his lines with a warm earnestness few people wouldn't enjoy.
Maybe it's a good thing that Allen's holiday ends here. After all, his London trilogy started superbly and ended on a less encouraging note, therefore it's wise of him to not attempt the same thing with Barcelona and return to America, leaving the misadventures of Vicky and Cristina as an indication that perhaps, hopefully, he has found his way again.