Match Point movie

[Pyrrho]

I just recently saw Match Point for the first time. It is a Woody Allen film from 2005, but very unlike what he usually has done. It is not a comedy. It does not take place in New York. It is a brilliant drama. It does deal with existential angst, like Woody Allen has done in the past, but without the one-liner jokes that he typically uses, and in a manner that is very accessible (not at all like Ingmar Bergman). It is one of the best films he has ever made, but most people probably never bothered with it because Woody Allen has been churning out mostly mediocre films for the past 20 years or so (that is why I did not bother with it until this past week). It makes me want to see Scoop and Cassandra's Dream, his two more recent films.

Anyone else see Match Point? If you liked it, what is your opinion of his newer films?

 

[Alex2507]

I thought Match Point was great. I liked it much better before I found out Woody Allen had anything to do with it.

 

[Pyrrho]

I thought Match Point was great. I liked it much better before I found out Woody Allen had anything to do with it.

Why did you like Match Point less after finding out that Woody Allen wrote and directed it? It is what it is, regardless of who wrote or directed it. If you now found out that Woody Allen really only took credit for someone else's work, and that this other person wrote and directed it, would you then like it better again? Really, what is on the screen and in the sound is all there is to a film; who did it and why, insofar as it is not on the screen or in the sound, is irrelevant.

 

[Alex2507]

I was under the impression that he started having sex with his mentally challenged foster child. That's reason enough for me to avoid funding him even if it is only a matter of a movie rental.

 

[skizzerflake]

While not approving of Woody Allen's behavior, I thought this was an excellently strange movie. The ethics of murder, social climbing and and how close we all are to being psychopaths make for an interesting story.

 

[jostenmeat]

I also enjoyed this movie. I found the film to be so coherent, which does not appear to be an easy thing to do considering the twisted plot! Rhys-Meyer, or however the heck you spell that name, did a fantastic job. So did Woody. Always appreciate his more masterful use of music as well, something that is rarer and rarer, but then again he plays jazz clarinet I believe.

As for the artist's behaviour, that's tough. I really enjoy some of Roman Polanski's films, Chinatown, Ninth Gate, Pianist, (though a couple of really strange ones out there too), but as far as I know he'd land in jail if he stepped on US soil for past pedophilia.

 

[Alex2507]

In a politically correct world it's nice to have a group that it's okay to hate.
I saw that show that talks about the charges against Polanski. He's another one that doesn't need anything from me.

 

[zhimbo]

I was under the impression that he started having sex with his mentally challenged foster child. That's reason enough for me to avoid funding him even if it is only a matter of a movie rental.

If by "mentally challenged" you mean "willing to have sex with Woody Allen", then yes. If by "foster child" you mean "adult adopted daughter of his wife", then yes.

Dude wasn't banging a retarded minor or anything.

Heck, they're married and have kids. Therefore, Woody's ex-wife Mia Farrow is also his mother-in-law. "Ex-wife" and "Mother-in-Law"; that's a potent combination.

ADDED BY EDIT: Actually, I shouldn't rely on my memory for Allen's sordid personal life. Apparently he and Farrow never married, but had kids and a long term relationship. Farrow did accuse Allen, after the whole Sun-Yi thing, of some sort of abuse of one of her minor children, but nothing every really came of it one way or another. OK, enough of trying to sort through celebrity gossip for one morning...

 

[zhimbo]

If you liked it, what is your opinion of his newer films?

I haven't seen Match Point, although I like even mediocre Woody Allen films just fine.

Scoop is definitely in the "mediocre" category. But, hey, Scarlett Johansson.

 

[Alex2507]

Dude wasn't banging a retarded minor or anything.

.

Not at all. She was 18. Barely.

 

[Pyrrho]

I was under the impression that he started having sex with his mentally challenged foster child. That's reason enough for me to avoid funding him even if it is only a matter of a movie rental.

If that were true, then it would be a reason to not like him and to not want to fund him. But it still would not make any difference regarding the question of whether the film is any good or not.

But I believe you are mistaken about Woody Allen's actions. zhimbo has already commented on that point with:

If by "mentally challenged" you mean "willing to have sex with Woody Allen", then yes. If by "foster child" you mean "adult adopted daughter of his wife", then yes.

Dude wasn't banging a retarded minor or anything.

Heck, they're married and have kids. Therefore, Woody's ex-wife Mia Farrow is also his mother-in-law. "Ex-wife" and "Mother-in-Law"; that's a potent combination.

ADDED BY EDIT: Actually, I shouldn't rely on my memory for Allen's sordid personal life. Apparently he and Farrow never married, but had kids and a long term relationship. Farrow did accuse Allen, after the whole Sun-Yi thing, of some sort of abuse of one of her minor children, but nothing every really came of it one way or another. OK, enough of trying to sort through celebrity gossip for one morning...

Yeah, that is the way I remember it, too. I think the general thought was that Farrow's later accusations were simply her lashing out at Woody Allen any way she could for spurning her for her adopted daughter. If that were the case, it would explain why those accusations never got anywhere. Anyone interested in the question can, of course, do further research on line for themselves.

 

[Pyrrho]

While not approving of Woody Allen's behavior, I thought this was an excellently strange movie. The ethics of murder, social climbing and and how close we all are to being psychopaths make for an interesting story.

Wow, I hope you are joking. I am no where near being willing to do the stuff that person does in that film. I also am far-sighted enough to not muck things up the way he does (even if I were a social climber, which I am not), making him feel like he has no other options. Really, if he had just thought about the long term consequences of his actions, he would have done a lot better for himself and those around him, even while still being an amoral person. Interestingly, it seems that careful long term planning, at least in this film, would have been about as good in its consequences as simply being conventionally a "good" person.

 

[Pyrrho]

I also enjoyed this movie. I found the film to be so coherent, which does not appear to be an easy thing to do considering the twisted plot! Rhys-Meyer, or however the heck you spell that name, did a fantastic job. So did Woody. Always appreciate his more masterful use of music as well, something that is rarer and rarer, but then again he plays jazz clarinet I believe. ...

I agree with this assessment completely.

 

[Pyrrho]

I haven't seen Match Point, although I like even mediocre Woody Allen films just fine.

Scoop is definitely in the "mediocre" category. But, hey, Scarlett Johansson.

Thanks for your opinion of Scoop. I won't be in any hurry to see it. But I won't try to avoid it either.

You really should watch Match Point right away. It is great and it has Scarlett Johansson (who you evidently think raises the value of a film by her presence). I think it is one of Woody Allen's best films ever. Up until seeing it, Manhattan has always been my favorite of his films. Now, I am not so sure. I'll need to rewatch Match Point before I decide whether it is better or not. But don't expect a comedy when you see Match Point, because it is one of the least funny things he has ever done.