Match Point

The first Woody Allen film set entirely in the United Kingdom, Match Point follows former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) as he ingratiates himself among the members of a wealthy British family – with Chris’ eventual marriage to Emily Mortimer’s Chloe threatened by his clandestine relationship with sexy out-of-work actress Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson). Match Point, which runs just a hair over two hours, progresses at a leisurely pace that’s initially offset by Allen’s superb dialogue and a raft of compelling performances, with the engrossing atmosphere heightened by a steady undercurrent of ominous foreboding (ie it’s clear this is all heading somewhere nasty). It’s fairly disappointing to note, then, that Allen’s overly patient modus operandi paves the way for a midsection riddled with lulls, and it’s ultimately rather clear that the movie, which suffers from a rough-cut feel, could and should have been cut down to the filmmaker’s customary 90 minutes. There’s little doubt, however, that Match Point grows increasingly engrossing once it arrives at its third act, as Allen slowly-but-surely infuses the narrative with thriller-like elements that result in an often unbearably tense final half hour – which ensures that the movie, in the final analysis, ranks as one of the venerable writer/director’s more accomplished efforts in this new century.

*** out of ****