Match Point

[Earl Hafler]

The first half quite intrigued me and i didn't find it at all dull but the denouement was indeed " bloody marvellous ".

 

She's a captivating actress...perfect for an Allen film.

[Knox_Harrington]

I went to see it here six weeks ago having read very little about it and agree with you totally about the start.  I wasn´t having it at all. I hated the fact that he´d come to London and made a film about a London that´s utterly alien to me.  All tennis clubs and stately homes.

 

It did improve massivley but I still felt it didn´t really gel.  I wonçt mention the end but I thought that what was supposed to have happened was highly unlikely in reality.  I don´t mean the plot twist by that either.

1142983[/snapback]

I think his New York is probably alien to a lot of people...maybe not actually because he grew up there and he has always filmed the "underbelly" well. It was beautifully shot though - Allen can still pick a director of photography.

 

I believed Rhys-Meyers at the end, much more than at the start (though again, that may be because he had nothing to do) and felt it just held together. It's brave to make a film about mostly unlikable characters - I don't think Allen wanted us to have any sympathy for any of them really.

 

Still slightly unsatisfactory though.

She's a captivating actress...perfect for an Allen film.

She's starring in his next one which has just finished shooting. Maybe she'll have more funny lines in the next one.

[hagi_complex]

Saw it last night and thought it was great. It kept me interested all the way through, and not even the presence of my good chum Jimmy Nesbitt put me off.

 

I avoided as much of the publicity surrounding it as I could and found parts genuinely suspenseful. Almost Hitchcockian.

 

His best since Celebrity for me.

[Knox_Harrington]

Saw it last night and thought it was great. It kept me interested all the way through, and not even the presence of my good chum Jimmy Nesbitt put me off.

 

I avoided as much of the publicity surrounding it as I could and found parts genuinely suspenseful. Almost Hitchcockian.

 

His best since Celebrity for me.

1143021[/snapback]

Thought Sweet and Lowdown was far stronger than Celebrity. But certainly the best since either.

[hagi_complex]

Thought Sweet and Lowdown was far stronger than Celebrity. But certainly the best since either.

1143023[/snapback]

 

I loved Sweet & Lowdown as much as Celebrity - I'm getting my chronology mixed up. The cinematography in Celebrity is gorgeous, but I usually find myself in the minority regarding its merits when I discuss it with other fans.

 

Your point about how people would be raving about it if it was a debut is one that I've often made about his films from the 90s onwards. Even the 'weaker' ones are better written and more enjoyable than most popcorn thrash out there.

[Knox_Harrington]

I loved Sweet & Lowdown as much as Celebrity - I'm getting my chronology mixed up. The cinematography in Celebrity is gorgeous, but I usually find myself in the minority regarding its merits when I discuss it with other fans.

 

Your point about how people would be raving about it if it was a debut is one that I've often made about his films from the 90s onwards. Even the 'weaker' ones are better written and more enjoyable than most popcorn thrash out there.

1143032[/snapback]

I'm cheating and have IMDB open!

 

As for that:

 

Sweet and Lowdown (1999) (written by)

Celebrity (1998) (written by)

Deconstructing Harry (1997) (written by) )

Everyone Says I Love You (1996) (written by)

Mighty Aphrodite (1995) (written by)

Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (written by)

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) (written by)

Husbands and Wives (1992) (written by)

Shadows and Fog (1992) (written by)

Alice (1990) (written by)

 

Husbands and Wives (mainly for the terrific Judy Davis performance) to Sweet and Lowdown is a terrific run. Not one is a Hannah and Her Sisters but Everyone Says I Love You is a truly lovely film (with great jokes) and Deconstructing Harry is brilliantly nasty (with great jokes).

[hagi_complex]

Husbands and Wives (mainly for the terrific Judy Davis performance) to Sweet and Lowdown is a terrific run. Not one is a Hannah and Her Sisters but Everyone Says I Love You is a truly lovely film (with great jokes) and Deconstructing Harry is brilliantly nasty (with great jokes).

1143033[/snapback]

 

A terrific run indeed. As the years go by, I find that Husbands and Wives gets better and better and I've a massive soft spot for Bullets Over Broadway.

 

What are your thoughts on this decade's output? The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is probably the weakest film he's made, and while I felt that both Small Time Crooks and Hollywood Ending were enjoyable enough, they're pretty disposable and not films I'm in any rush to revisit. The last two, I enjoyed more - especially Melinda and Melinda. Match Point bodes well for Scoop and he's supposedly shooting the next one in Barcelona, which will be interesting.

 

 

EDIT: Hollywood Ending, not Anything Else.

Edited January 7, 2006 by hagi_complex

[Knox_Harrington]

Well I didn't mind Anything Else. Haven't seen Hollywood Ending or Jade Scorpion. I have the latter on DVD but I've heard so many bad reports I can't face it! Small Time Crooks was brilliant for half an hour and then got a bit lost but it was what it was - a funny little caper movie.

 

Melinda and Melinda falls into the "Alice" catagory for me - films of Woody's that suffer because he insists on doing one a year. Melinda and Melinda felt rushed, not properly thought through. It simply wasn't tragic enough and he ignored good jokes (e.g. why didn't we see Ferrell on the trampoline - clearly would be funny. Easy but funny) but simultaneously it indicated a return to some degree of form.

 

The plot of Match Point may have suited that form far better. One hour of tragedy and one of comedy. A collaboration between two writers rather than the cafe discussion of Melinda and Melinda?

 

High hopes for the next one now though.