Movie Review: Match Point

4/5

You know those movies that you can watch, leave and come back and immediately pick up on where you left off. Match Point was that movie for me. I watched it December last year, got halfway through it, rented it again last week, picked up where I left off, and my emotional state didn't change toward it. It still is a good movie. I've not seen many Woody Allen films(exception being Vicky Christina Barcelona), but I can tell that he's a man with style, who wants to tell a story the way he wants it told, and doesn't care what you think about it. He's had many misses and hits, but strangely the one film that he said was the best he ever did, is Match Point. I can certainly see his appeal. The character of Chris is a psycho, by the very definition of one, very similar to Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He lets lust get the better of him, and instead of let it destroy his life, he destroys the lust in his life, but it leaves him empty in the end. Scarlett Johannson is excellent in this, after coming right off Lost in Translation, she plays the same sort of character, just wanting love in her life, and not being able to obtain it. She's a tragic hero, who suffers because of her involvement with Chris. The rest of the characters are unnecessary, as are some spots in the movie. The movie may seem long, and drag on, but if you are in the right mindset you could find some appeal in this. I will say though that it is written with intelligence, shot with art form, and presented as a film for many, but not everyone.