Match Point







Director - Woody Allen

Genre - Thriller/Drama/Romance



Woody Allen goes all dark and moody in this psychological thriller. Humor that is Allen's forte is discarded here and surprisingly, he is just as adept. So much so you wonder why he doesn't do it more often. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is magnificent as the lead actor and the script by Woody Allen despite being very unlike his previous works, is sinfully sharp.

4.5 STARS!

All about Match Point

Comments

Shubhajit said…
A psychological drama from Woody Allen - the man known for his cerebral satires!!! That's interesting.
Fox said…
You read my mind!... or, my mind was reading your blog, b/c just today my wife and I were discussing this movie.

We disagree on it. She takes your view. Basically I think it's hard for Woody to go out side of his light drama/comedy fare. However, I think he handles the murder plot line well in *Crimes and Misdemeanors*.
We think you will agree with us that a more diversified Woody Allen is more interesting for all of us than a Woody Allen who continuously does 'relationship drama-comedy'. We wouldn't mind if he directs a horror film either if it pleases him.

There's a whole new world of genres out there for Allen to explore. Kubrick didn't just make the same kind of films in his career. Maybe Allen feels he too shouldn't restrict his creative mind to one genre.

Isn't that right on the money Mrs. Fox? High five! Come on Mr. Fox, let's have a group high five!
Ed Howard said…
Why he doesn't do it more often? Match Point, good as it was, was hardly the first time Woody was working in a psychological thriller framework. Crimes & Misdemeanors is obviously the template for it, as it is for Cassandra's Dream. There's also the fabulous Another Woman, the gorgeous, autumnal September, and several films that toe the line between drama and comedy, like Hannah and Her Sisters and the much underrated Shadows & Fog. I think Allen is very interesting in the dramatic form, although after Cassandra's Dream he seems to have worn out the possibilities of the murderous morality play, so I'm looking forward to Vicky Cristina Barcelona as another revitalization of his style.
Thanks for the comment Ed.

The question we asked was 'why he doesn't do it more often', not 'why he has never done it'.
Anonymous said…
I loved this movie and remembered seeing it in a semi-crowded theatre on a Sunday afternoon and squirming in my seat. I've seen few films that have caused such a physical reaction when screening them in a cinema. It's such a well-done, well-written film with great performances. I, too, thought the film's plotline was a lot like Crimes and Misdemeanors, which I had seen some two weeks before Match Point came out. Still my favorite Woody Allen movie far and away.
Thanks for the comment Patrick.

'Crimes and Misdemeanors' was a comedy. 'Match Point' was totally devoid of comedy. It was dark and moody, as we mentioned in our review. Woody Allen made it as such to differentiate it from 'Crimes' and we should respect and acknowledge that.