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Match Point

Match Point
MatchPointPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Woody Allen
Produced by Letty Aronson
Gareth Wiley
Lucy Darwin
Written by Woody Allen
Starring Brian Cox
Matthew Goode
Scarlett Johansson
Emily Mortimer
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Penelope Wilton
Cinematography Remi Adefarasin
Edited by Alisa Lepselter
Production
company
BBC Films
Thema Production
Jada Productions
Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures (USA)
Icon Productions (UK)
Release date
  • 12 May 2005 (2005-05-12) (Cannes)
  • 6 January 2006 (2006-01-06) (United Kingdom)
Running time
124 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Luxembourg
Language English
Budget $15 million
Box office $85.3 million

Match Point is a 2005 psychological thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, and Penelope Wilton. Rhys Meyers's character marries into a wealthy family, but his social position is threatened by his affair with his brother-in-law's girlfriend, played by Johansson. The film treats themes of morality, greed, and the roles of lust, money, and luck in life, leading many to compare it to Allen's earlier film Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). It was produced and filmed in London after Allen had difficulty finding financial support for the film in New York. The agreement obliged him to make it there using a cast and crew mostly from the United Kingdom. Allen quickly re-wrote the script, which was originally set in New York, for a British setting.

Critics in the United States praised the film and its British setting, and welcomed it as a return to form for Allen. In contrast, reviewers from the United Kingdom treated Match Point less favourably, finding fault with the locations and, especially, the idiom of the dialogue. Allen was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Chris Wilton, a recently retired tennis professional, is taken on as an instructor at an upmarket club in London. He strikes up a friendship with a wealthy pupil, Tom Hewett, after discovering their common affinity for opera. Tom's older sister, Chloe, is smitten with Chris and the two begin dating. During a family gathering, Chris meets Tom's American fiancée, Nola Rice, and they are instantly attracted to each other. Tom's mother, Eleanor, does not approve of her son's relationship with Nola, a struggling actress, which is a source of tension in the family. Chloe encourages her father, Alec, to give Chris a job as an executive in one of his companies; he begins to be accepted into the family and marriage is discussed.

During a storm, after having her choice of profession attacked by Eleanor, Nola leaves the house to be alone. Chris follows Nola outside and confesses his feelings for her, and they passionately have sex in a wheat-field. Feeling guilty, Nola treats this as an accident; Chris, however, wants an ongoing clandestine relationship. Chris and Chloe marry, but Tom ends his relationship with Nola.


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