Match Point

“The man who said ‘I'd rather be lucky than good’ saw deeply into life. People are often afraid to realize how much of an impact luck plays.”

At first glance, the social drama Match Point seems a new departure for prolific filmmaker Woody Allen, but it has precedence in the writer/director’s oeuvre. Its roots lie in Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors, specifically in the story where ophthalmologist Judah Rosenthal (Martin Landau) has a morally troubling descent into crime as he searches for a way to silence a woman with whom he’s having an affair. Match Point also has echoes of classic literary novels like Vanity Fair that involve the moral disintegration of characters as they sell their souls to ascend the ladders of society. (It also reminds me, though the context is different, of Harlan Ellison’s description of the experience of writing a TV series for an unscrupulous producer, something to the effect that you climb a vast mountain of cow shit to plant a single rose in the top, only to find that by that time you have lost your sense of smell. The essay’s called Somehow, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas Anymore, Toto and is well worth seeking out. But I digress.)

In Allen’s Match Point, former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) befriends Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode) while teaching tennis at a London club. Tom is of an extremely rich family, and his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) has eyes for Chris, and they begin a relationship as Chris is welcomed into the circle of the Hewett family and the ranks of the British upper classes. Already a bit of a distant character, Chris takes a turn to being an utter bastard when he seduces Tom’s fiancée Nola (Scarlett Johansson). The further he becomes entrenched in the upper class, the more Chris is protective of his position in society, and the greater his moral decay. The story spirals slowly downwards, with a shocking decision by Chris that reveals the iciness at the heart of his character.

There is an inescapable coldness at the heart of Match Point, and it comes from the main character, Chris. This presents the film’s major problem. With the protagonist a distant, frosty-hearted bastard who is given little character depth and background, there is a hollowness at the centre of the film. The result is that, by the last third of the film, we no longer care about him and watch with detached interest as a couple of final twists reveal the impact of blind fate on our lives.

Having said that, Match Point is extremely well-made and acted, and has the virtue of remaining eminently watchable right up to the somewhat depressing denouement. There is an inspired shot towards the end that is a mirror image of an earlier shot, and the resolution should not be a surprise if you’ve seen Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Though flawed, Match Point is easily the best film Allen has done since 1992’s Husbands and Wives.

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Written and Directed by Woody Allen

Starring:
Jonathan Rhys Meyers....Chris Wilton
Matthew Goode....Tom Hewett
Brian Cox....Alec Hewett
Penelope Wilton....Eleanor Hewett
Emily Mortimer....Chloe Hewett Wilton
Scarlett Johansson....Nola Rice
Ewen Bremner....Inspector Dowd
James Nesbitt....Detective Banner