With this disturbing, yet enthralling, thriller, lauded in the US as his best work for a decade, Woody Allen has, ahem, served up an ace against the opposing side (critics and audiences). Match Point’s central question (there’s always a question in Allen’s films), is to what extent our lives depend on luck. On the screen, this quandary is addressed by former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). About to marry the daughter of a well-off British family, he falls for his prospective brother-in-law’s seductive American spouse (Scarlett Johansson). Match Point is a unique effort among the 71-year-old director’s extensive filmography. It’s Allen’s first (though in all likelihood not his last) attempt to escape intrusive Hollywood executives – the film was shot entirely on location in Great Britain. What’s more, it’s the antithesis of his usual style: no neurotic New Yorkers, no over-intellectualized dialogue, no comic relief, and no jazz soundtrack. Instead, we have a great piece of operatic tragedy, proving that Allen is still a filmmaking force. Indeed, the director, in his inimitable fashion, admits as much. Following an avalanche of positive reviews, he declared: “The only thing standing between me and greatness is me.”
DreamWorks/BBC

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
July 2006 issue