The best Woody Allen movie in about 15 years. I would've said that a couple of months back about 'Melinda and Melinda' but this is a far better cry than Melinda and Melinda. Don't get me wrong, I think Melinda and Melinda is a good movie, but 'Match' is more fulfilling.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Chris Wilton, a former tennis pro turned tennis teacher who is of Irish lower class. He is shocked to find out he got a job as a tennis instructor in a high class country club. There he meets Tom Hewett played by Matthew Goode in a very strong performance. What Rhys Meyers does is unbelievable, he showcases what he is really made of in this movie. Chris sounds like a simple person but what Rhys Meyers did was make him a person of complexity. From the moments of solitude when he's in the same room as his family, the way he grieves for what he's doing and what he is about to do is very convincing.
Emily Mortimer plays Chloe Hewett Wilton, Chris' wife and Tom's sister. Also what Mortimer does is also outstanding, even though she isn't given much to make Chloe a person rather than a persona, Mortimer makes Chloe a person with ease. In my opinion, I think Emily Mortimer does a better job of playing her character than Kate Winslet would've done had she been attached. She has the right notes and chemistry with Jonathan Rhys Meyers to make their marriage and romance very believable, and what Mortimer does in the moments of denial and solitude she is given, she makes Chloe a complete person. This performance should make her a star.
Scarlett Johansson gives, in my opinion, maybe her 2nd best performance in this movie. Johansson is OUTSTANDING as Nola Rice, a struggling actress. Johansson shows us her range to play this character, the epitome of tragic beauty, Johansson combines elements of sexuality, desire, nostalgia, in one being. Though this performance may not be as good as her performance in Lost in Translation, its still good enough to get her an Academy Award Nomination.
Match Point starts off as a drama and works its way into being a very tense psychological thriller, and Woody Allen shows he is still in top form by trying something daring, and pulling it off. This movie is a silent masterpiece.
