An erotic Dostoyevskvian Woody Allen thriller

MATCH POINT (2005)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Woody Allen's "Match Point" is a chillingly absorbing character drama that slowly sneaks in suspense and thrills that pounce at you. Not unlike Allen's 1989 masterpiece, "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Woody is as adept at building tension and suspense as, say, Hitchcock was. In many ways, this is a more appropriately Hitchcockian homage than anything Brian De Palma has cooked up in over ten years with an added touch of Dostoyevsky to truly rattle the audience.

An Irish former tennis pro named Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is now giving tennis lessons at a very upwardly mobile social club. Chris zeroes in on one pupil, Tom (Matthew Goode), and before long, Chris has got his dreamy, fixated eyes on Tom's sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer). Chris wastes no time as he marries Chloe and is hired to work at a financial corporation owned by Alec, Chloe and Tom's father (Brian Cox). Only trouble is Chris is not exceptional at his job. And there is Tom's girlfriend, Nola (Scarlett Johansson), a struggling American actress who has her eye on Chris, in more ways than one. These two start an adulterous affair that also involves massages and oils! Goodness gracious me but I do not recall the last time that Woody Allen ever featured erotic scenes in any of his movies.

Dostoyevsky's "Crimes and Punishment" (which our antihero avidly reads) is the key to the surprises in Woody's thriller. Another key is "Crimes and Misdemeanors" which "Match Point" often apes, in particular those cringing phone calls Chris receives during family visits and picnics. I have not described what Chris does in this film - it is a shocker when it happens - but let's say that immorality enters the picture. Scene by scene, Woody accentuates the moral decay of Chris Wilton and most of the film's unnerving tension (nicely enhanced by excerpts from Verdi's operas) will leave you in cold sweats.

"Match Point," however, is not nearly in the same company as the great "Crimes and Misdemeanors." Myers does not have the subtle sympathetic card that Martin Landau played in "Crimes." Myers' Wilton is a charmer but very insular and a tinge stoic and emotionless (by design, I am sure, but not even the barest sliver of sympathy is exuded). Also tough to withstand is Scarlett Johannson, an actress who has not impressed me much since her glorious work in "Manny and Lo," "Ghost World" and "Lost in Translation." In this role, she is hardly believable and doesn't resonate the harsh notes of the far more restrained Anjelica Huston in "Crimes."  A more dynamic actress would have been nice to complement Emily Mortimer, who is very believable as a happy woman who wants a child and all the privileges wealth has to offer.

Overall, "Match Point" works as an efficient thriller that grows on you. It is a very different Woody Allen film than anything I've seen from him in years. Kudos, warts and all.