Match Point – Movie Review
I only got around to seeing this 2005 Woody Allen film about a year ago when it was on the telly box – Match Point is set in London, England, where everyone is frightfully posh and plays tennis or goes to the opera (or both). A former semi-pro, turned tennis coach makes friends with an incredibly wealthy family and soon begins to date the daughter (Emily Mortimer). Her father (Brian Cox – the actor, not the professor) gives him the chance to work in his company and earn fortunes…
It seems strange to me that he would give up his lifestyle as a tennis coach to work in what is essentially a high-stress job which he hates. Likewise, he seems to marry into the family at breakneck speed. This despite the fact that he’s clearly in love with the fiancée of his new brother-in-law – Scarlett Johansson – who wouldn’t be? She is absolutely smouldering on screen!
What follows is the inevitable affair and lots of sneaking around; it appears to be heading the way of other films such as Fatal Attraction or Unfaithful and when did they ever have a straightforward ending?
For a while, Match Point was looking to be a pretty average film; the pacing and editing of the developing story is very odd (at times even jarring) and the overly posh English accents are enough to make you cringe (like fingernails down a blackboard). It almost seems like terrible acting, but I guess there are people just like this in real life who go Clay Pigeon Shooting on the family estate at the weekends(?)
One of Scarlett Johansson’s Sexiest Roles
To this day, Match Point is probably one of Scarlett Johansson’s most provocative and sexy roles. You can almost see the steam rising off her in a highly passionate love scene in the rain.
The final act of the movie is very good; it’s like the film equivalent of a page-turner; you just HAVE to know what is going to happen next… But it’s not what I would have done if I were ever in a situation like that! (Not that I would be; I’m a family man, all the way).
Match Point is a little difficult to get into at first, but if you can get past the posh accents and lifestyles of the characters and the film’s odd pacing, it is ultimately well worth sticking with to the very end. The final act is worth the price of admission alone.
My Rating: A high 6/10
Watch Match Point
If this film passed you by, you can stream Match Point from Amazon here.
