Product Description

Match Point is "a winning combination of sex, mystery, brilliant writing and first-rate acting that all adds up to one of the most erotic and exhilarating movies in years." (Maxim). Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is being torn apart by his desire for two very different women. Marrying Chloe (Emily Mortimer) will bring him a life of wealth and success, but his true passion lies with his brother-in-law's fiancee, the stunningly sensuous but unpredictable Nola (Scarlett Johansson). Pulsing with tension, Match Point rides the dangerous line between ambition and obsession to an ending as surprising as it is chilling.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7572 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2006-04-25
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 124 minutes

Amazon.com
The passion of mad love and the cold calculations of social climbing collide in Woody Allen's Match Point. Former tennis pro Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Velvet Goldmine) stumbles into good fortune when Chloe Hewett (Emily Mortimer, Lovely & Amazing), the daughter of a wealthy businessman, falls in love with him. But when Chris meets Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation), a much deeper passion is stirred--and his desire isn't deterred when he discovers that Nola is already dating Chloe's brother. But when their affair threatens Chris's increasingly cozy lifestyle, Chris begins to consider a drastic solution. Match Point starts deftly and ends with cunning; though the middle bogs down in banal plot mechanics, Woody Allen fans have justly hailed it as a comeback after Allen's last few cinematic stumbles. Despite weaknesses (Allen still seems to have lost touch with the mundane realities of life; his characters operate in a strange, weightless world of wealth and privilege), the strong performances and clean direction carry the movie through. Also featuring Brian Cox (X-Men 2, Adaptation). --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

An Engrossing and Engaging Film
MATCH POINT is considered by some to be a departure for Woody Allen, due largely to its setting and its few oddities that can sometimes be an annoying Allen trademark. Yet it is also a well acted and well developed film that would be reminiscent for some of films such as ANNIE HALL. In order to know for sure, a person has to see it to decide and it's certainly worth seeing.

The film tells the story of Chris Wilton, and Irish born tennis player who realizes there's only so far his game will take him, so he takes a job as a tennis pro hoping to make a connection with London's upper class. His charm and ability ensure this will happen. He meets a client Tom Hewett, the son of a powerful business leader. Wilton marries Tom's sister, endears himself to his in-laws, and has a passionate affair with Nola, Tom's fiancé then later ex-girlfriend. Much of the film focuses on the ways in which Wilton goes to great lengths to cover up his affair.

The actors fit their roles well. Chris Wilton is played masterfully by Irish born Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Rhys Meyers has the look of someone who would fit into British upper class circles, and he comes across less as an imposter and more as a climber. Rhys Meyers, who is familiar to many who saw the film BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, again an Irish lad trying to make it in England, albeit in very different circles, demonstrates he's a believable and versatile actor. Scarlet Johansson plays the American actress Nola, likewise gives a phenomenal performance. The Hewett Family: Brian Cox as father Alec, Penelope Wilton as mother Eleanor, Mathew Goode as Tom and Emily Mortimer as Chris' wife Chloe seem like British aristocrats, oblivious to all that is happening round them, yet believable too. Perhaps one of the films strengths is the fact that the Hewetts are oblivious to Chris' scheming and climbing, and that Chris is not a character whose controlled by ambition as much as his desire not to loose the good life he's created for himself.

My guess is that since MATCH POINT was nominated for several Golden Globe Awards and will likely be nominated for Academy Awards too, people will take notice of this film. One of our local newspapers praised MATCH POINT because it was a Woody Allen film that was not typical Allen fare. Another paper praised it because it is so Woody Allen, but set in London rather than New York. The long and the short of it is, chances are you'll enjoy this film whether you like Woody Allen or not.

Woody Allen's Character Piece Holds Hitchcockian Qualities & A Turning Point You Won't See Coming
MOVIE: Do you ever sit and watch a movie and try and guess the ending? Do you ever try and guess what direction a film is going? Well, I dare you to try and guess this film's outcome, go ahead, I dare you. Match Point is Woody Allen's character study as to how luck plays a role in our lives. Match Point opens appropriately enough with a sideline view of a tennis ball going back and forth across the net in slow motion. The narrator is the voice of the main character, Chris, played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. He describes the game of tennis as luck, that once in a while the ball will hit the net. The frame then freezes as the ball hits the net, and he describes that luck determines which side of the net the ball will fall. Chris, who is an all-pro tennis player, decides to step down from playing and takes up teaching for awhile while he decides what he wants to do with his life. His latest student, Tom, shares a passion of opera with him and invites him to his family's balcony seats. There he meets Tom's sister, and he falls in love with her. However, he soon meets Nola, a beautiful woman who lures him in with her eyes. He soon finds out that Nola is Tom's soon to be wife. This is the film as it seems. Chris begins to have an affair with Nola, and after she breaks up with Tom they continue to romance without the knowledge of Tom's family. He gets married to Tom's sister and they are now expecting a child, his father in-law lands him a dream job at one of his corporations. Yet, it is still the lure of the temptress that calls to him. Woddy Allen sets up a dilemma for our main character that raises the question between love and lust, and luck and fate. While you may expect this film to be lustful drama, you have no idea where Allen takes you next. The brilliant aspect of the film, is that there is no score. I hate films without a score, I think music is 50% of a film's emotional effect on the audience, but where there is no original score there is opera. Allen uses opera to structure the scenes, since it is the one thing that ties Chris to the family. The opera changes in tone and emotion as the scene does, so it works to perfection. The film is interesting, you may find yourself debating about what happens in the end, but you realize it all ties in with what this movie is about. The film plot is something that you'd expect from Hitchcock, and it is a savory one at that. The movie is entertaining and thought provoking even if it doesn't seem plausible at times.

ACTING: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers does a superb job even though I think some of his dialogue seems stilted, but he's not to blame for that. He does a fantatsic job with what Woody Allen gives him. Scarlett Johansson is perfectly cast as the temptress, and she even gives her somewhat commercial character a human side as well. Great acting, even though the dialogue is stilted at times.

BOTTOM LINE: The film will lead you one way only to make a sharp left and take you where you wouldn't expect. You have no idea what's coming, and I dare you to guess the ending before it starts to unfold. The film is intelligent and an interesting watch, but it really doesn't boast any technical highlights. Cinematography is nothing to get excited over, but it's one doozy of a screenplay.

Why is everyone trying to make this deeper than it is?
Am I the only person who found the whole story like something out of a soap opera? The social climbing, the adultery, the pregnancy, the murder...it's a little too much like something that you would see on daytime tv. I didn't find the plot twist that shocking, I'm sorry. I think the desperation was pretty apparent so if you were paying attention, it shouldn't have greatly surprised you. I think the problem was that it was done so matter-of-factly. Like in sports films when the star player dramatically falls down and breaks their neck and the audience is supposed to gasp in horror. It's been done to death. Maybe I'm just a cynical moviegoer, but instead of being shocked, I rolled my eyes.

Now there are plaenty of good things about this film too. The acting for one is notable especially Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. Whoever casted him did a good job because he just has one of those faces where you're never quite sure what's going on underneath. I also think the writing and directing was done very well. The characters are well developed throughout the story, and my attention was pretty well kept. However, I found myself looking at the time wondering when it was going to be over. I guess I kept waiting for something else to happen. Basically, the story unerwhelmed me and I found it tedious. There are a lot of good things about this film but if you don't have a good story then you don't have a good movie. My recommendation?
If you love twisted relationships see:
Closer
The Dreamers
If you love tragic/dramatic relationships see:
The Virgin Suicides
The Notebook
Brokeback Mountain
Romeo and Juliet (of course)