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 break-neck 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(?)

Thankfully, the final act is rather very good, it’s like the film equivalent of a ‘page turner’, you just HAVE to know what is going to happen next… But its not what I would have done if I was ever in a situation like that!

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

About the Author: Chris Russell has a passion for movies, films and cool TV shows and loves to share that passion here on Movie Retrospect where readers can join the discussion in the comments below or via our socials. If you enjoyed this post, please follow @MovieRetrospect on X / Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.