Match Point

A

Watching Match Point isn't about watching a movie. It's an experience. I can't emphasize that enough. There were times when I had to turn away from the screen to let my fatiguing brain catch a breather. I don't like slasher flicks for the same reasons, though Match Point didn't have a guy in a mask wielding sharp objects in the dark. Instead, it's ordinary people wielding life in a film sharp with a brutal honesty.

Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is an ex-pro tennis player who has just picked up a coaching job in a tennis club. There he meets Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode), a friendly young man who soon builds rapport and invited Chris to the opera. Tom's sister, Chloe, takes an instant liking for Chris and soon they are in a relationship. Unknown to anyone, Chris is secretly obsessed with Nola Rice, Tom's fiance, and continues to harbor his feelings all through even as he marries Chloe. All went well until Nola breaks up with Tom, and Chris' passion can no longer be contained.

Another movie that can be compared with Match Point is 2004's Closer. Both films deal with infidelities and their strains. However, while Closer was about how people destroyed one another, in Match Point we see them desperately trying to do the right things, but at times their efforts come in vain. These are all good people, all of them protagonists in any other romantic films. But bring them together under an uncompromising Woody Allen, and what ensues is nothing less than gut-wrenching.

Nothing in this movie is less than first rate. The plot, with its twists and turns, is both intriguing and true. The direction is sure-handed. It's been such a long time since I went into the cinema and totally forget that I'm watching a movie. The performances are remarkable. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, appearing in every scene, captures the affable Chris as well as his dark brooding side. It is imperative for him to portray the mental degradation that Chris endured for us to fully grasp the extent of his desperation. Scarlett Johansson plays a character similar to Natalie Portman's in Closer. Though the latter's role was more challenging, Johansson still delivered more than adequately, giving Nola the right amount of vulnerability and toughness. Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton and Emily Mortimer make up the Hewitts as a family that's genuinely warm. I feel the greatest strain seeing Chris in the same room as the Hewitts. It's like watching lovable puppies tied to dynamite.

Nothing that I write here will make much sense. Match Point is something that must be seen to be believed. It's not for everyone though. To some extent, Closer is forgetable because it seemed so distant. Match Point is about the people who we've come to know in all the romantic comedies, who somehow just can't find happily-ever-after.
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