Get the Point

This past weekend, I went to see Match Point. It's the newest movie from Woody Allen. I think I've maybe seen one other Woody Allen movie -- not that I could tell you which. But his "style" is very much part of the public consciousness. Everybody pretty much knows what a Woody Allen movie is like.

Match Point isn't.

If you didn't have his name above the title, I'd defy you to guess that it was a Woody Allen movie. It feels like some strange British independent movie. Kind of like one of Eddie Izzard's "arranging matches" movies. At least for the majority of it.

I really enjoyed the film. But I don't think I can go into many details of why without spoiling things for any who might want to see it. Suffice it to say, I knew virtually nothing going into this film, and it was definitely one of those experiences where going in cold made the film vastly more enjoyable.

It's a very smartly written film. Well framed, in terms of plot and theme. The acting is quite good. It may or may not get an Oscar nomination, and it wouldn't be undeserved if it did. For my opinion though, I'd say it would need a bit of editing to be a truly Oscar-worthy film. It's a 2 hour movie, which isn't too long simply on principle, but in this case felt like it took a little too long getting where it was going. I believe that if about 10 or 15 minutes were cut from the first 90 minutes of the movie, you'd have a grade A+, Best Picture worthy film.

As it is, I'm going to give it a B+, and a hearty recommendation. To those with patience. Again, remember Eddie Izzard's "arranging matches" movie. This is not a movie where you'll be packing away buckets of popcorn. If you want that, wait for the "space monkey invasion" movie.