Jonathan Rhys Meyers stars as Chris Wilton, a tennis pro who is barely getting by. Hired by a private club to teach members how to play the sport, Chris quickly finds himself making friends with the British upper crust. Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) and his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) befriend Chris, taking him home to meet mom and dad and generally showing him how good life is on the other side of the tracks. It’s like dangling a carrot in front of a horse.
Chloe quickly becomes infatuated with the good-looking Chris and gets her daddy to give him a real job in his big company. Chris takes the job, moves up the ladder, and falls for Chloe all within a very short period of time. While the Chris/Chloe thing is going on, Tom’s got his own hottie, Nola (Scarlett Johansson) to hang out with. Nola’s a struggling actress and Tom’s parents don’t like her. Why? Probably because she’s an actress, poor, and she’s American. That’s three strikes against her. The upper-class Hewitt’s may not be big fans of Nola’s but Chris certainly is. Despite knowing they’re doing something very, very wrong, the two become involved in an affair behind Chloe and Tom’s backs.
I believe in love at first sight but you’d think the characters in “Match Point” had each been trapped on a deserted island without the benefit of any interaction with the opposite sex, so quickly do these people pair off. I guess it’s the rich lifestyle and sucking down drinks 18 hours a day that makes these individuals so desperate to be part of a couple.
The story’s improbable and the pacing is, well, strange. Tennis pro Chris goes from lobbing balls over the net to being a whiz kid in business in a matter of days. Or is it weeks? Who can tell? It’s very difficult to figure out how much time is supposed to have taken place between events. Sometimes the story calls for the audience to accept these characters have known each other for months, and then turns around and wants us to believe they’ve just barely met.
Nothing much makes sense in this flat, unremarkable, and soulless film. Ex-tennis pro Chris isn’t likeable enough to get away with his actions, yet for some reason Allen treats him as though he’s the hero of the piece. And speaking of Chris’ actions, the development of his character is so minimal that when he takes drastic steps to do something about his mistress, it’s incomprehensible as to why he would do what he does.
Saying Scarlett Johansson’s believable as a failed actress sounds mean but it’s not meant that way. Johansson’s fine, as are the rest of the cast. The problem isn’t in the acting. It’s solely in the direction and the story. “Match Point” is the first movie Allen’s filmed in London but that doesn’t really make much of a difference. His characters could easily have been transported from any of his other films which feature upper-class New Yorkers.
There are always one or two movies each year that are hyped by critics and film groups as the best of the year that, for the life of me, I just don’t understand why anyone finds that particular film appealing. That can be said about what’s happening with “Match Point.” I’ve seen it on a few Best of 2005 lists and I don’t get it. Is it because it’s a Woody Allen film? That can’t be as by now even the most ardent Allen fan has to admit they’ve been burned by the filmmaker.
For some reason “Match Point” is winning over the majority of critics. While it may be Allen’s best film in years, is that really something to boast about? I don’t think I need to remind Allen supporters about “Curse of the Jade Scorpion,” “Anything Else,” and “Melinda and Melinda.” Comparing rotten apples to rotten tomatoes (wink wink) doesn’t make one of the two suddenly delicious.
GRADE: C-
"Match Point" was directed by Woody Allen and is rated R for some sexuality.
