Thursday, February 02, 2006
Match Point
I saw Woody Allen's Match Point last night, and in the past day I have thought about it more and more by the hour, which makes me think it's probably brilliant and I should see it again. At first it seems like typical Allen: Young social climber Chris Wilson (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) suavely insinuates himself into the lives of a rich family. Should be comedy, right? Allen cues us for a roasting of the upper class....and then, as suavely as his protagonist, turns the tables, and the film emerges as a morally ambiguous adultery thriller. According to Entertainment Weekley's Owen Gleiberman, "It's the most vital return to form for any director since Robert Altman made The Player."
In the opening shot, a tennis ball goes back forth over a net in soothing slow motion, opera plays, and in the movie's only narration Rhys-Meyers sounds dreamy and innocuous as he talks about how luck is more important than having skill. This is Allen being devious. There's nothing innocuous about this movie. Likewise, when Chris attempts to seduce a woman at his girlfriend's parents' house, the come-on is obvious in what seems a cheeky, let-me-help-you-with-your-swing kind of way. There's nothing cheeky about this movie. Aping EW's OG, I would have to say this may be the most ingenious (and vital) disguise a movie has worn since The Crying Game. It's literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's also the mirror image of Allen's own Crimes and Misdemeanors, another essay on luck vs. skill, the idea of a just world, guilt, and adultery. Crimes and Misdemeanors, though, announced it's subject--- the two male lead characters constantly asked the movie's questions aloud. After the opening narration, Match Point leaves everything in your hands. Crimes and Misdemeanors was essentially two separate stories grafted onto each other, one a comedy starring Allen, the other a drama starring Martin Landau. Good as it was, it had a structural awkardness that Match Point remarkably avoids.
The characters' behavior eventually morphs into something darker than mere lust gone awry, and the film is able to divide your sympathies in a way unlike any I've ever experienced. The thrill of watching this movie is not really in the action itself; it's in how the movie pushes you to root for someone you know is doing something awful. And the ending is so fucking good. It's the coolest (and most vital) ending since.......The Usual Suspects.
In the opening shot, a tennis ball goes back forth over a net in soothing slow motion, opera plays, and in the movie's only narration Rhys-Meyers sounds dreamy and innocuous as he talks about how luck is more important than having skill. This is Allen being devious. There's nothing innocuous about this movie. Likewise, when Chris attempts to seduce a woman at his girlfriend's parents' house, the come-on is obvious in what seems a cheeky, let-me-help-you-with-your-swing kind of way. There's nothing cheeky about this movie. Aping EW's OG, I would have to say this may be the most ingenious (and vital) disguise a movie has worn since The Crying Game. It's literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's also the mirror image of Allen's own Crimes and Misdemeanors, another essay on luck vs. skill, the idea of a just world, guilt, and adultery. Crimes and Misdemeanors, though, announced it's subject--- the two male lead characters constantly asked the movie's questions aloud. After the opening narration, Match Point leaves everything in your hands. Crimes and Misdemeanors was essentially two separate stories grafted onto each other, one a comedy starring Allen, the other a drama starring Martin Landau. Good as it was, it had a structural awkardness that Match Point remarkably avoids.
The characters' behavior eventually morphs into something darker than mere lust gone awry, and the film is able to divide your sympathies in a way unlike any I've ever experienced. The thrill of watching this movie is not really in the action itself; it's in how the movie pushes you to root for someone you know is doing something awful. And the ending is so fucking good. It's the coolest (and most vital) ending since.......The Usual Suspects.
# posted by Dan @ 2:21 PM 
