Match Point Reviews

Along with Interiors(in a way), Match Point seems to be one of Woody Allen's most divisive films and that's understandable. With me, it is good but not great, interesting but Allen has done better(much worse as well). The ending was surprising which wasn't a problem, but it was also much too rushed and ambiguous, at odds with the rest of the pacing of the film. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the script also didn't come across as consistent to me. Meyers is handsome and does make for a creepy sleaze in some parts of the film but at other points he underplays so much that he comes across as one-note. The script does have a very neat and healthy balance of sporting analogies and psychological questions, beautifully observed in distinctive Woody Allen fashion, unfortunately there are some clumsy moments and some out-of-place mordant humour(if anyone disagrees that's fine, it's just personal taste). The London locations, it's entertaining spotting the familiar ones, look splendid though and the filming reflects the dark, gritty nature of the story very effectively. The score is haunting, giving an ominous tone to scenes in need of it, and opera enthusiasts will love the healthy dose of opera excerpts throughout(though you wished they had a grander approach). The story even with the clear influence of Allen's 1989 masterpiece Crimes and Misdemeanours(a much better film) is an absorbing one, despite much of it being a slow-burner. Especially in the second half which takes a more violent turn without feeling mismatched. The gritty atmosphere worked in the story's favour as did the neatly interwoven plot points and story layers(the romance did have some resonating moments), and the characters as ever with Allen had a fair amount of realism though Chris was not very easy often to root for. Allen directs with control and assurance, though he's at his best in comedy-dramas like a lot of his films from the late 70s all the way through to the early 90s. With the acting, while Rhys Meyers didn't always convince, the largely British do some fine work, especially Matthew Goode and Brian Cox- James Nesbitt has been much better though- and Scarlett Johnansson in sultry, compassionate mode is superbly cast. Overall, interesting film and a good one(at its best even very good), but not great, Woody Allen has done better. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A very deep film filled with adult themes that lead to a climatically shocking end. A difficult, yet interesting film to watch.

Ever since I saw ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ back then in the theater (almost 20 years ago… Dear, I feel old now…), I have been faithfully following Woody Allen through the years. Back then, I was a huge fan but, to be honest, even though I watch all his movies when I get the opportunity, I don’t care much about them anymore. The problem is that, nowadays, for every decent movie he makes, Allen has to make 4 very weak features. And the worst thing is that the ‘good’ movies are never really that amazing either. Take ‘Match Point’ for example. After it was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it so I was definitely eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was indeed pretty good but, honestly, nothing really amazing. The fact that I had some food poisoning or something like that maybe didn’t help so I might give it a 2nd chance at some point but, still, I‘m not really optimistic. The point is that the directing was indeed solid, there was a cool cast (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Ewen Bremner, James Nesbitt, Toby Kebbell) and I liked how all the characters were pretty much despicable. Still, there was something missing in the story to make it for me truly remarkable. To conclude, even though I was a little bit disappointed, it still remains a solid flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Woody Allen’s work.

about how a rainy day runes man's life !.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What do you do to make an unoriginal script interesting to the critics? Get big name stars to say the lines and Woody Allen to direct it and then wrap it up with an existential ending/twist. Voilà, here's your "tour de force"!

Match Point is a film that is depressing and heartfelt. However, it is unexpectedly dark, psychologically shocking and controversial. What I really love about Match Point is that it’s a very thought-provoking story that becomes quite tragic and the main characters lives begin to change. Match Point begins with a beautiful dialogue but as it goes on, it starts to get dark and very personal. Despite, I sort of knew what was going to happen, I was in shock when it finished because of the events that occurred within the film.


Jonathan Rhys Meyers isn't really the best actor for this kind of film so I wasn't really expecting a great performance. However, when I saw this film I was pleasantly surprised at Jonathan's acting. I found him to be one of the most psychologically disturbed characters I have ever laid my eyes on. Chris Wilson is a tennis coach at a London tennis club. He meets a young rich girl called Chloe and together they marry and seek to have a baby. However, when Chris meets Nola Rice, his life turns upside down. Scarlett Johansson delivers an amazing performance as Nola Rice! Scarlett should have been nominated Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film. Emily Mortimer's performance as Chloe Hewett Wilton was very good also. She is the victim so to speak of this film because she has no idea of the affair between Chris and Nola.


Woody Allen has created another fantastic film! Personally, I find Match Point very underrated because I think it should have earned more credit than it got. The best it got was a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination. Woody Allen is mostly well known as a director of romantic comedies. This one, on the other hand, is a new kind of film for him and he did a fabulous job! In fact, I would say that Match Point is my favourite film from Woody Allen so far.


Overall, Match Point is a very dark and powerful story with severe consequences and a tragic conclusion. Definitely one of the best films of 2005.

Nossa, eu ouvia falar tanto desse filme que resolvi ver. Comecei, tá.. legal. Ai foi ficando chato, chato, chato e previsível.. Ai eu dei pause e fui fazer unha... Voltei e continuou tão chato e nojento que eu resolvi parar.
Descobri lendo as reviews que ela morre né... Foi bom ter parado de ver, pq conseguiram piorar ainda a história.
É, definitivamente esse não vai entrar pra lista dos meus filmes preferidos...

Sure, i wanted to watch it only for Scarlett but the movie was awesome, too of course not as much as Scarlett, omg are you a human ? btw Woody Allen was brilliant again and i liked Jonathan Rhys Meyers's acting. The murdering thing was shocking, killing two people (including my Scarlett) and the end, it was fascinating: "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." Even thoughIt didn't go forward Chris won, because he'd rather be lucky than good...

I spent most part of this movie trying to discover when it would be finally over. It was boring, with a pretty uninteresting history, and I was swearing I would never rent another Scarlett movie only because Scarlett was in it.
And, then, it happened. The end. And I got so thrilled.
The movie was not completely boring anymore. If was genious. It had everything to be the movie that you HAVE to watch. Just because of the very end of it.
Scarlett wouldn't disappoint me, after all.

I've never been a huge fan of Woody Allen (I didn't even like Annie Hall, thought it was interminably dull.) This movie has some excitement in the last 30 minutes, when everything comes together/falls apart but the middle is rather dull. At nearly two hours long, it could have done with some editing to make it a snappier movie. The other problem is that Jonathan Rhys Myers is wooden faced for so much of it. It works in some scenes but doesn't work in most of them. I could not feel any of his passion for Scarlett Johannson's character, which made the whole premise of the movie (infidelity) a little difficult to believe. The climax, as I said earlier, is interesting and saves the movie from being a complete write-off.