Before I begin, I must confess to not being the biggest fan of Woody Allen.  I'm not much for films who star their own writers and/or directors and I don't generally get Woody's kind of humor.  That said, I was excited about the premise of "Match Point" from very early on, if surprised Woody would helm subject matter as serious as this.  I tend to gravitate toward strong relationship movies and the lure of forbidden affairs... maybe that's just me.  

But this film stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson as Chris and Nola, two people instantly smitten by one another, in large part due to Nola's strong flirtatious abilities.  She has no problem letting men know how sexy she already knows she is and it has her desired effect on Chris.  The two initially meet over a ping pong table in Nola's fiancé Tom's parents' house in London.  Chris is a former professional tennis player who becomes a tennis instructor at the exclusive club Tom is a member of.  Almost immediately the two hit it off and upon discovering Chris's passion for the opera, Tom invites Chris to share his parents' box seats.  Chris also happens to strike the fancy of Tom's sister, Chloe.  The interest is mutual, and slowly but surely, Chloe and Chris form a serious relationship.  It works well, because Chloe is happy and her parents want to groom him to become a businessman who can properly care for their daughter.  The two are married, but Chris just can't seem to keep his mind - or his hands, for that matter - off Nola.

Nola, on the other hand, is not liked by Tom's parents.  She's a struggling actress and she's American.  To marry Tom would be the worst thing she could do, not to mention she would have to put up with Tom's mother Eleanor, who continually insults her choice of career.  She engages in a relationship with Chris, despite her initial efforts not to.  Soon they're seeing one another every day.  He's leaving work early and pushing back meetings to meet Nola.  But on the surface to everyone else, Chris has the perfect marriage and Chloe is always the loving wife.  She desires to have a child, but Chris's mind is elsewhere.

As he messes further around with Nola, she becomes needier of his attention and he finds himself continually trying to keep everyone at bay with a tangle of lies.  Without giving anything away (I really did try with all that up above), it's pretty crazy how far a man will go to keep up appearances and live a lifestyle he is accustomed to!  Basically this isn't just your standard love story.  It really is reminiscent of "Fatal Attraction" in so many ways.  As with Michael Douglas's character in that film, Chris is driven to desperate lengths to keep Nola from wrecking his marriage.  There's a tennis analogy used in the beginning of the film that has a lot of relevance to real life:  when the ball pops up from the net, it really can go either way.  If it falls on your opponent's side, you win.  If not, you lose.  It's about getting lucky.

I won't go into the ending because (to me) spoilers always suck, but it struck me a little odd.  It's almost to the point of being unbelievable, but I guess dumb luck tends to be.  I would still recommend this one.  Especially if you've ever fantasized about or desired someone you knew deep down you could never have, but wanted anyway.  I know this has happened to me.

Captivating, if the formality of everyone's speech started to bug a bit after awhile.  They're all very posh.  I liked the opera music used throughout as well.  

8.5/10      

I recently saw this. I loved this. To avoid being redudant I'm going to skip describing this movie. THe only gripes I had were it felt to take way too long to start up and way to long to end. These are common problems I've found in Woody Allen's films. Although this is a huge deperature from Woody's usual work it still feels Woody like. I can't describe why, but it does.

I felt that the ending was a bit confusing. The only reason why I didn't have trouble "believing it" , was because it fit perfectly with the main characters monologue in the beginning of the film as well as the reoccuring theme of how luck plays a huge part in our lives.

One of the best films I've seen this year despite being in the shadow of the oscar contenders.

I really want to see this. I really like Woody Allen movies. It looks really great and I haven't heard any bad reviews of it.

I saw this yesterday and I loved it. The ending was a little too drawn out, I keep thinking that the movie should've ended right after Chris reaches the play (those who've seen it know what I'm talking about). Though Woody set this film apart with the serious-nature of the story, music choices and general location of Match Point, this film is no-doubt Woody Allen's. The framing of shots, the fast dialogue, and the talking with the dead. All Woody Allen. But I loved this movie because I still think about the ending.
All I can say is that Chris is one lucky bastard.