Woody Allen returns to the big screen with Match Point, a film that received an outstanding reception at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. After the positive critical response, DreamWorks quickly hustled to secure distribution rights and make sure that the film would be in North American theaters in time for the 2005 awards season.
The movie stars Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as a young tennis instructor named Chris Wilton. One of his students in a member of a very wealthy family, and as a result, Chris becomes close to that family and involved in their lives. He soon finds himself rising in class to become accepted amongst upper-class society, and also winds up in a romantic involvement with two different women. This triangle leads him deeper and deeper into a complicated mess, and Chris soon determines that the only way to safely emerge from the situation is to do away with one of the women.
The film boasts a stellar cast in addition to Rhys-Meyers. Scarlett Johansson plays a beautiful American girl, and the rest of the cast boasts an impressive group of British Isle actors that includes Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton.
At a turning point in his life, the former tennis pro Chris (Rhys-Meyers) falls for Nola (Johansson), a femme fatal type who happens to be dating TOM (Goode), Chris's nemesis and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Audiences who have had the opportunity to see the film have so far described it as Hitchcockian and also treading some unexplored ground on the part of Allen. The film should certainly attract some attention as it's been hailed as one of the stronger releases to emerge in a bleak year for quality. (Kim Hollis/BOP)