Match Point | |
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Theatrical release poster
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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 |
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Distributed by |
DreamWorks Pictures (USA) Icon Productions (UK) |
Release date
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Running time
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123 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom Luxembourg |
Language | English |
Budget | $15 million |
Box office | $85.3 million |
Match Point is a 2005 British-Luxembourgish psychological thriller film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, and Penelope Wilton. In the film, 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 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.