Movie Review: Match Point (2005)

From esteemed director and filmmaker Woody Allen comes “Match Point,” a movie which on its surface appears like a psychological thriller but packs within it so much more. Let us begin with the plot.

In London, England, a former Irish tennis professional, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), accepts employment at an elite Tennis club. Here he coaches and befriends the scion of an aristocratic family, Tom Hewett.

Tom learns that he and Chris have a mutual passion for Opera and invites Chris to an Opera event, where Chris meets Tom’s parents and sister. Chris makes a positive impression on the older Hewetts, who appreciate his polite manners. Tom’s sister, Chloe, is smitten with Chris and volunteers to show him the sights of London.

Chris begins a relationship with Chloe and becomes a regular visitor at the Hewetts’ home. At this point, he meets Nola (Scarlett Johansson), Tom’s American fiancée. Chris feels an immediate uncontrollable attraction for Nola. While the senior Hewetts are welcoming to Chris, Tom’s mother Eleanor (Penelope Wilton) treats Nola with disdain. One rainy day, Eleanor demeans Nola, who is a struggling actress seeking a break, by telling her that she should seek another career.

Nola is upset and storms out into the rain. Chris, who has been waiting for an opportunity like this, follows Nola and accosts her. A vulnerable Nola gives in to the moment. Nola resists Chris’s approaches after this, claiming that the incident was an accident when she was in an unstable state.

Chris persists, but with no success. Chris and Chloe soon tie the knot, but Nola and Tom break up. Realizing that this might be his opening, Chris tries to track down Nola, but with little success.

Later on, after planning to meet Chloe at the Tate Museum, Chris meets Nola there and gets her number. He makes contact and then begins an affair with Nola. Chloe now wants to be a mother and pressures Chris to do what is necessary to make it happen.

Alas, all their (or her) efforts are in vain. However, as the fireworks fly between Chris and Nola, Chris gets a call from Nola where she tells him that she is pregnant. Chris does all he can to persuade Nola to get an abortion, but Nola has decided on motherhood. She now demands that Chris break up with Chloe and that the two of them, Chris and Nola, raise the baby together. Just a financial settlement for her is not an option.

When she sees that Chris is not taking any steps down this path, she steps up the intensity and blackmails Chris, threatening to tell Chloe that she is pregnant with Chris’s child.

Chris decides to take decisive action. Stealing a shotgun from his in-laws’ collection, Chris sets out not just to murder Chloe but also to cover up his tracks. Whether he will get apprehended by the detective investigating the case or get away with murder forms the rest of the plot.

Well, that is one part of the plot. The other part of the plot is more a philosophical narrative on morality, luck, lust, survival, and destiny.

Let us compare the motivations of Nola and Chris. Chris wants it all. He wants both the money of the Hewletts and to satisfy his lust for Nola. He plays the game perfectly to win the affection of the Hewletts. He ultimately gets Nola.

Nola, on the other hand, has feelings for Tom but is attracted to Chris. She does not seek to win the affection of her mother-in-law. She is passionate about acting. Destiny does not bring her luck. Her passion is not rewarded. She does not make it as an actress and ends up losing Tom. Ultimately she becomes Chris’s muse, only to miss out on motherhood.

Chris, on the other hand, plays the game to get what he wants. He is always lucky. He wants and gets the Hewletts’ money. He also gets a woman devoted to him in Chloe. However, he is greedy and seeks Nola, the object of his lust. There is also a conflict within himself in that a part of him does not want to be his father-in-law’s ‘welfare son-in-law’.

When things seem to be turning out badly for him, with Nola unexpectedly pregnant, he chooses his comfortable boring life over lust as his life becomes a quest for survival. Woody Allen devotes a scene after the climax to make his case that sometimes evil deeds done by arrogant selfish people are rewarded with luck.

Critics have mentioned that this is a counterpoint to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “Crime and Punishment.” I have not read the novel by Dostoevsky but will revisit this debate when I either read the book or see one of its several movie adaptations.

As mentioned earlier, the movie was set in and filmed in London and gives us great views of London’s skyline, the Royal Opera House, the Tate museum, and more. Lavish homes and chic apartments add more visual candy.

Early in the movie, we see a tennis ball that hits the net while on its trajectory and momentarily pops up, leaving uncertainty about which side it will land, as a metaphor to symbolize luck. Later, Chris throws a ring into a body of water, but the ring hits a barricade, and like the tennis ball pops up in the air and does land on concrete. This ‘twist’ of fate will bring luck to Chris and save him from the law.

As mentioned, “Match Point” is far more than a thriller. It is a profound commentary on sin, morality, and luck. Do not miss this one.