by Woody Allen, of course. So, let's not speak more about him. Suffice to say there are more choices than just love or hate. Some you may like, some you may find boring, some you may touch you in places you didn't know existed.
Game, set and match. A ball rolls off the egde of a net, with just enough balance to make you doubt it's path. It is a fight of prey and carnivore, of equal potential. Is it a game of randomness? No, I would not say so. This film is disturbing, in the most elaborate way. Every little detail rips through the deepest of our myths, of human behaviour, cravings, strength and weakness.
As our protagonist plays his ways towards the sensible, his eyes are more than focused upon ambition and to have that which cannot be had. Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson) is a jaguar impersonator, a cat to purr, not entirely tamed, warm and intelligent. Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Chris Wilton) is ebservant, focused, ambitous and of course full of emotions kept under lid, portioned out. He is a cave man, the modern scholar, a veritable tragic hero. There are numerous references to Greek Myth, Russian literature, quantum physics and narrative techniques. It has been a very long time since I saw such an intense film. It is of game theory and feelings that must be expressed, agonizing choices that might have been taken in that split second or planned for a long time.
Jonathan does not necessarily want fame and fortune. If he can have it, does he not then have a duty to take it? In his work as tennis coach at a swab spa, with a handsome face and charming manners, he soon becomes included in the closest of family circles and the nice life. These are upper class people, who not only command respect and exude confidence, but who also have money and the means to use them. The good life indeed. A good life is not necessarily an easy one, or bound to chance alone. If that gun hangs on the wall there, must it not be used?
Match Point is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It made me quirm in my seat, wanting to close my eyes, but never ever daring to miss a single second.
