Match Point

Ah, the first movie I saw in 2006. Saw it on a very rainy, very chaotic day at the ArcLight in Hollywood. I found the cinematography utterly stunning. This is just simply a beautiful, lush, vibrant, breathtaking to look at film. This is also not what one might think of as a "typical Woody Allen film" for which I'm thankful. That is because lately his films have stunk on ice and also because it's fantastic to see him break away from his stock character, either himself as himself, or someone else pretending to be him (see Will Ferrell, "Melinda and Melinda." Actually, don't see it, it hurts to watch. Trust me.) and also for him to move past neurotic romance and into this far more dangerous territory. Set in the swank uppercrust of London society, Match Point is a riveting glimpse into a costly and sizzling, to say the least, extra-marital affair. It doesn't glorify the extra-marital affair, although it does imply that for the very privileged, one way out is to do something far worse than cheat on your wife. It also implies that everyone has their cost, meaning there is a point for everyone that you have to hold on to or where you decide to cash it in. People, and situations, have weighted values beyond the dollar or British pound, in this case. This was a very well-made film, and has given me much to think about, granted the situation is extreme. A friend of mine that I saw the film with remarked to me afterwards, "I wonder how many people in that theatre thought to themselves 'I can relate, I've been a party in an affair'?" Indeed. Well done, Mr. Allen. May this be just the start of a new phase in your now-salvaged and illustirous career.