Match Point is a Woody Allen film which hardly gets a mention when people recite Woody films off the top of their heads. It’s no wonder since Match Point is a major departure from Woody’s accustomed routes and ‘brand’ such as the romantic comedy genre. Instead Match Point is a slick psychological (Hithcockesque) thriller. It contains many subtle references to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and for anyone who has been following this blog will know I’m in awe of that book. So naturally a movie which does that has already got me by the short and curlies.
IMDB storyline: From a humble background and with traditional values, Irish Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is still struggling financially despite being a recently retired high ranked tennis pro. He has taken a job as a tennis instructor at an upscale London tennis club, although he knows there is a better life for him somewhere down the road. He is befriended by one of his students, wealthy Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode). Chris starts to date Tom’s sister, Chloe Hewett (Emily Mortimer), a girl-next-door type who is immediately attracted to Chris. Chloe quickly knows she wants to marry Chris, and through her businessman father, Alec Hewett (Brian Cox), tries to help Chris and their future by getting him an executive job in Alec’s company. In his life with the Hewetts, Chris begins to enjoy the finer things in life.
Where I think Woody Allen is at his finest in the dramatic realm is when he explores conflicts and tension between social classes. His most intriguing film dealing with ‘classes’ is Blue Jasmine for mine, but Match Point is also highly engaging with respect to the interplay between characters of different classes. Match Point is geared towards someone trying to conform to a social class that will secure him a better life, where as Blue Jasmine is about the complete opposite; a high society woman who is unwilling to enjoy positive,and meaningful social interactions with people she considers lower down on the social ladder.
Like the protagonist Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, Irishman Chris Wilton in Match Point is a very clever and manipulative rationalist. He says in one scene: ‘I think Faith is the path of least resistance.’ He also draws analogies of life being like a game of tennis. When the ball hits the net, it’s only a matter of luck whether it drops on the far side or lands back on your own. As an audience member when I was perplexing over the macabre ending, these words I found came back to haunt me as it might do you.
My own thoughts about Match Point aligns with mstomaso: (It) draws its audience in quietly and slowly at first, defining its territory as a smart, hip, and sophisticated character study early on (in no way unexpected for Mr. Allen), but then it takes an irreversibly sinister turn…. The story line of Match Point is powerful, disturbing, and exceedingly clever. Philosophical folks will likely want to talk about it afterward. Some will find it frustrating and others will find it pretentious. Well, from my perspective, it is simply damn good story-telling.
- This is Writer and Director Woody Allen’s favorite movie of his own.
- Because it was filmed in Britain, Writer and Director Woody Allen had to have a certain percentage of British cast and crew. Apparently, he made his quota before casting Kate Winslet. After she backed out to spend more time with her family, Allen cast American Scarlett Johansson.
- In a nod to Sir Alfred Hitchcock, a playbill showing Woody Allen’s face in deadpan is briefly seen as Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) arrives at the Tate museum to meet Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson).
- This was Woody Allen’s first movie since Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) to make a profit in the United States.
- The “Crime and Punishment” elements were also used in Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), which was heavily compared by movie critics with this project at the time of its release.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
This is one Bailey and I missed…we covered his seventies and eighties…thanks for the write up Matt.
It’s not your typical Allen movie, but it has his fingers all over it. The music in it is wonderful too. If you like Opera. I hope you guys get round to seeing it.
We will… That is his goal is to watch all of Allen’s movies
I hope you like it.
Matt I have yet to see an Allen movie I didn’t like…at least some.
Same here.
Nice review. I don’t think I’ve even heard of this movie, weirdly. I must have forgotten. But you definitely paint an intriguing picture here.
I thought the IMDB description saying “she quickly she wanted to marry him” was amusing.
I never “quickly knew” that I wanted to marry anyone, including my husband, lol !!
But anyway, I do love Woody Allen’s comic genius from earlier films. This doesn’t sound very funny, but anything with Hitchcockian elements is a must-see. And I’m a sucker for macabre endings…hee hee….
The whole rich family fall head over heals for this Chris character. He’s charismatic, good looking and seemingly well intentioned. The girl wanted a family more than anything and I suppose she was in love with him. It’s a pretty serious, dark and edgy film.
I noticed that Woody’s back in the news again as his book has been banned or blacklisted. And Stephen King has attacked their axing of his book. This muzzling of speakers and authors is very concerning. He said: “I am always afraid when a mob, however small and well-read, exercises power without any accountability, process or redress. That frightens me much more than the prospect of Woody Allen’s autobiography hitting the bookstores,” I couldn’t agree more.
God, that’s terrifying. Doesn’t anybody see what’s happening?! It’s so weird, the communal amnesia for events from recent history like McCarthyism and, of course, all the elements leading up to and beyond WWII. *shudder*