Match Point

[satellite]

According to IMDB, they did the festival circuit and released it in NY and LA on Dec 28 and wide release Jan. 20. I hate when they do that with "artsy" movies. They'll have it in 2 or 3 theaters in my area and then sometimes only for 1 or 2 weekends. I might as well just wait for the DVD. I know the theatres have to make money with crappy big movies, but thank goodness for NetFlix and the independent movie rental store.

[londonprincess]

Tell me about it. I live around Chicago and the damn movie was only playing at 2/3 sporadically placed theaters for about 3 days. I thought this film was kindy big...Woody Allen did direct it. All I know is, the theater I saw it in had it next by the next weeked.

Glad I caught it when I did. Loved it..

[fanatic]

I had heard rave reviews (especially about ScarJo) about this film so I was really excited to see it...

...eh...I liked it. I liked everyone but ScarJo. I thought she was wooden. Unnatural. I HATED the way she delivered her lines. I liked everyone else...well if Chloe shouted "CHRIS! WHERE ARE YOU!" one more time I was going to shut it off...but in general everyone else played their part well. JRM was great and yummy. I just couldn't get past ScarJo's line delivery. Ugh. I was so disappointed. I just thought she was...bad.

[londonprincess]

I've heard similar complaints. I really like her but thought she could have been a little more...something. She is a very talented actress but was very lifeless in this film.

Perhaps it was Woody's fault...

[Deleted]

Perhaps it was Woody's fault...

I saw him in an E! clip at the premiere and he said something to the effect of he hires good people and lets the actors follow their instincts. So, yeah, I'd say it's his fault. Doens't sound like he's doing much in the way of direction.

This is in my Netlfix queue even though I always end up hating his movies. Yeah, I like to torture myself.

[londonprincess]

georgianna said:

Perhaps it was Woody's fault...

I saw him in an E! clip at the premiere and he said something to the effect of he hires good people and lets the actors follow their instincts. So, yeah, I'd say it's his fault. Doens't sound like he's doing much in the way of direction.

This is in my Netlfix queue even though I always end up hating his movies. Yeah, I like to torture myself.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Whether or not you like the film, it definitely isn't in typical Woody Allen fashion - I"m not a fan of his either.

As far as Scarlett, even though he doesn't direct the actual acting that much, she gets paid quite a bit of money to figure it out herself. I'm a huge fan of hers but was disappointed in her performance.

Let me know what you think...

[Deleted]

I really liked Scarlett's performance. At first glance, she did go from being super sexxxy to super neurotic very abruptly, but it helps to explain why Tom (her British fiancee) would be able to meet her, fall madly in love with her to the point of proposing and then dump her without a second thought. She seems like the perfect, sexy woman but underneath she is a neurotic little girl who just hasn't had to be much more than a pretty face and awesome body. Great in bed, but boring and annoying elsewhere. When people judge her on anything besides her looks she just falls apart. I think Nola herself is starting to realize this - that she needs to hook a man very quickly because she isn't getting any younger and people are only willing to put up with so much - and that is why she pressures Chris (JRM's character) to the point of breaking.

[foxfair]

She seems like the perfect, sexy woman but underneath she is a neurotic little girl who just hasn't had to be much more than a pretty face and awesome body. Great in bed, but boring and annoying elsewhere. When people judge her on anything besides her looks she just falls apart. I think Nola herself is starting to realize this - that she needs to hook a man very quickly because she isn't getting any younger and people are only willing to put up with so much - and that is why she pressures Chris (JRM's character) to the point of breaking.

Just saw this flick. And just read the 4 pages of this thread and... is Nola *really* neurotic and boring? I mean, she tries to end it at the beginning of the affair and *he* continues it - he is actively the one pursuing it and there is the scene where it is made clear that she's pregnant because he was unable to wait/use protection at a certain time after she had warned him it was needed. I don't entirely get the derision for her character. She's pregannt by someone who's sworn he loves her and will leave his wife for her. She's guilty of naivete, yes, but of being a horrible person? I don't know. Why is asking a the man to live up to his promises and to his (unborn) child seen as "pressuring" on Nola's part? I'm not getting at anyone here, just genuinely interested - I don't think the Nola character was unsympathetic at all!

[Deleted]

I do think she is neurotic (perhaps not boring, though - we don't -as far as I remember - get evidence that she is a boring person during the film). I mean, even during Chris's initial infatuation with her, she is totally neurotic. She cannot handle criticism or failure yet she is trying to be an actress. Yikes! I thought her character came across as a girl who knows she is gorgeous but doesn't have much confidence beyond that. I hope I didn't imply that I thought she was a horrible person or anything in my past posts because I never thought that. Ultimately, she is a much more sympathetic character than Chris, but for whatever reason, I wanted him to get away with it (in the traditional sense of not getting caught - the movie made it pretty clear that he will be paying for his crimes for the rest of his life).

[plush]

thursdaynext said:

(in the traditional sense of not getting caught - the movie made it pretty clear that he will be paying for his crimes for the rest of his life).

Really? I thought it was exactly the opposite and probably that's why the end bothered me.Because not only he got away with it, but his life seemed to be heading in the direction he always wanted it as far as his ambition went, his wife didn't find out anything and after Nola was killed there was little chance she would have and the ring...how fascinating was that..ended up in some burgler's finger, perfectly convenient for Chris.And since he didn't seem like someone whose remorses and regrets would have consumed him for the rest of his life, I had no problem concluding that he'd forget all about it and suffer nothing as a consequence. I thought Woody was precisely mocking karma and saying that selfish,ruthless people do get away with things in life. Unjust yes, but a lot more realistic to me in that sense.


My problem with the movie was that I really didn't care about the characters. I agree that Nola was a lot more sympathetic than Chris, but not enough for me to care about her. I couldn't connect with them at all. JRM was a great choice and I liked his performance. He does have an obssesive maniac's eyes and he does creepy extremely well. Scarlet was meh and I really didn't understand why she got a GG nomination for that. In fact, JRM deserved one much more than she did, but I realize that it was a really strong male competition this year and not so much among women, so ScarJo managed to get one.