Match Point

The film's motto is "I'd rather be lucky than good," and no one learns that lesson better than the characters in this movie.

Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is a poor boy from Ireland, who nearly got his big break playing professional tennis...but not quite. He finds himself teaching tennis lessons in London in order to make ends meet, when he meets Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), who introduces him to his sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer). While Chris is certainly fond of Chloe, what he really likes most about her is her family's immeasurable wealth and influence, especially when her father offers him a lucrative position at one of his many businesses. Complications arise, however, when Chris is introduced to Tom's seductive fiancée Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), a struggling actress with whom he has an instant and irrepressible physical attraction. While Nola is less amenable to the idea of cheating on her fiancée than Chris is, as soon as her relationship ends, she is more open to his extremely aggressive pursuit of her. Now one might think that Chris, who has ostensibly married Chloe for mostly practical reasons, would therefore be extremely cautious in his infidelity, such that he would not hook up with Nola in the backyard with Chloe's entire family inside the house. But no. You would be wrong.

As Chris further entrenches himself in an illicit affair with Nola, he finds that it is becoming increasingly stressful to maintain the separation between his ever-demanding mistress and sweet but clueless wife, especially when Nola becomes adamant that Chris confess his affair to Chloe and divorce her. Meanwhile, Chloe wants to have children and starts demanding that Chris have sex with her every morning, to which Chris responds with a curious irritation at having a wife who wants to have sex all the time. (?) Eventually, however, with two crazy screaming women badgering Chris from all sides, he must find the most drastic solution imaginable to his problem without losing his opulent lifestyle.

This movie was quite good, I must admit. It was not what I would necessarily describe as a thriller, and yet throughout a good portion of the film I felt extremely tense and nervous. I wasn't sure whether I should root for Chris to escape the situation unscathed or whether to cheer for his ultimate ruin, but regardless I was extremely invested in the story and its eventual conclusion. It was surprisingly easy to identify with most of the characters, especially Chris, as despite his rather loose moral code he acted fairly rationally throughout the film (aside from some ridiculously obvious trysts with Nola wherein they could be discovered at almost any moment).

I would recommend this movie to those who wish to see a serious study of human nature within the context of someone willfully placing himself in a no-win situation--having to rely on his own wits and a fair amount of luck in order to navigate an increasingly complicated set of circumstances. Whether he is successful in his strategy and whether luck is with him or against him at the end is literally not clear until the last minute or two of the movie. Although this is a Woody Allen film, it certainly does not conform to his usual style, so don’t expect some goofball comedy if you choose to see Match Point. I recommend this flim as it is an exceptionally well-done movie and certainly worth a look.