Match Point (2005)

At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 11 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Chris Wilton
Alexander Armstrong	...	Mr. Townsend
Paul Kaye	...	Estate Agent
Matthew Goode	...	Tom Hewett
Brian Cox	...	Alec Hewett
Penelope Wilton	...	Eleanor Hewett
Emily Mortimer	...	Chloe Hewett Wilton
Janis Kelly	...	'La Traviata' Performers
Alan Oke	...	'La Traviata' Performers
Mark Gatiss	...	Ping-Pong Player
Scarlett Johansson	...	Nola Rice
Philip Mansfield	...	Waiter
Simon Kunz	...	Rod Carver
Geoffrey Streatfeild	...	Alan Sinclair
Mary Hegarty	...	'Rigoletto' Performer

Storyline

From a humble background and with traditional values, Irish Chris Wilton is still struggling financially despite being a recently retired high ranked tennis pro. He has taken a job as a tennis instructor at an upscale London tennis club, although he knows there is a better life for him somewhere down the road. He is befriended by one of his students, wealthy Tom Hewett. Chris starts to date Tom's sister, Chloe Hewett, a girl-next-door type who is immediately attracted to Chris. Chloe quickly knows she wants to marry Chris, and through her businessman father, Alec Hewett, tries to help Chris and their future by getting him an executive job in Alec's company. In his life with the Hewetts, Chris begins to enjoy the finer things in life. Through it all however, Chris cannot help thinking about Nola Rice, a struggling American actress who he meets at the Hewett estate and who is Tom's unofficial fiancée. Nola is vivacious, and she knows the effect she has on men, including Chris. Unlike ...

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Plot Keywords:

irony of fate | nihilism | misanthropy | extramarital affair | infidelity | 

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Taglines:

Passion Temptation Obsession

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks [United States]

Country:

UK Ireland Luxembourg

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Summer Project

Filming Locations:

Belgravia, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£751,992 (United Kingdom), 8 January 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$529,434, 1 January 2006

Gross USA:

$23,089,926

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,989,926

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Films, Thema Production, Jada Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many critics and viewers of this movie noted that the plot bore many essential similarities to Theodore Dreiser's 1925 novel "An American Tragedy," as well as the movie version of that novel, A Place in the Sun (1951), starring Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters, and Elizabeth Taylor. Despite the unmistakable similarity between the plots of "An American Tragedy" and Match Point (2005), however, there was no acknowledgment of Dreiser in the credits, and Match Point (2005)'s only Oscar nomination was for Best Original Screenplay (not Adapted). Woody Allen later repeated this tactic for creating a screenplay with his script for Blue Jasmine (2013), which bears unmistakable plot similarities to Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire," but which didn't credit Williams. Allen was again nominated for Best Original Screenplay for Blue Jasmine (2013).

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Goofs

When Chris and Chloe have dinner with Tom and Heather, Heather's hair is in front of her face in one shot, and tucked behind her ear a second later, even though she never touches it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Christopher "Chris" Wilton: The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Sexy Movie Scenes (2014)

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Soundtracks

Je crois entendre encore
(from "Les pêcheurs de perles")
Composed by Georges Bizet (1863)
Libretto by Michel Carré and Eugène Cormon (1863)
Performed by Enrico Caruso

User Reviews

Not so much as I expected

I had many good expectations on this movie, but I ended up a bit disappointed when I saw it. I thought it was going to be a masterpiece,but it didn't seem so to me. The most important thing for this story are the characters, and the problem is that the performances, in my opinion, are not powerful enough. I don't mean that Meyers and Johansson are bad actors, but I think that I may have enjoyed the movie better if it had a different cast. There are other movies which have the same themes as this one and are definitely better, as for instance, "The talented Mr. Ripley", in which the actors, for me, are outstanding, whereas in "Match Point", they can't awake almost any feelings in me. Besides, the dialogues are not very original,they are a little artificial. Anyway, the movie is worth seeing: it makes you think about the consequences of your choices, and that is always an issue which is important to approach.