I hate tennis and I hated Wimbledon so I'm not really sure why I decided to give another tennis movie a chance, but I did and I am glad I did.

Plot
Chris Wilton, a Scottish former tennis player, moves to London to try to land a job as a trainer at an exclusive establishment. One of the first pupils he is matched up with is the extremely well off Tom Hewett. Chris and Tom realize that they have many things in common such as the love of the opera, tennis, and being in love with Nola Rice, Tom’s fiancee.

Chris becomes a fast friend of the Hewett family and before you know it, he has married Tom’s sister, Chloe. Chris manages to keep an affair going with Nola even after she and Tom have separated. When it comes down to it, Chris has to make a crucial decision, should he stay with his wife, living an extremely comfortable lifestyle at an impressive job that she provided him with, or leave her for the woman he loves and have nothing?

Cast
Chris Wilton, played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, is a wonderful character. Even though he is one of those guys who cheats on his girlfriend/wife (which under any normal circumstances would have me completely against him), I still found him strangely likable. I think that Meyers did a wonderful job in this roll. I am never let down by Scarlett Johansson who played the beautiful Nola Rice. Johansson is always convincing and always lovable. I thought casting Emily Mortimer as Chloe was brilliant idea. Her "plain Jane" appearance is the perfect contrast against the stunning blonde Nola.

Crew
The colors in the movie were brilliant. The soundtrack was wonderful (even though I do not like opera or classical music, it still went well the movie itself). I am probably the only person who has never seen a Woody Allen film before this one, but I thought his writing and direction were wonderful. Every location was beautiful; I particularly enjoyed a piece of graffiti by Banksy of a girl holding a red balloon that was in the background in one scene. The makeup and costumes for the characters were flawless at all times.

Technical
-Genre: Drama/Romance/Thriller
-Written and Directed by: Woody Allen
-Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alexander Armstrong, Paul Kaye, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Penelope Wilton, Emily Mortimer, Scarlett Johansson
-Rated: R
-Runtime: 124 minutes
-Studio: Dreamworks
-ASIN: B000EQHXNW

Verdict
This is one of the best movies I have seen all year. I was completely blown away by Match Point and in one week I made at least eight more people watch it just to show them how amazing it was. The beginning is a bit slow and kind of like a chick flick, but when you get to the end, wow. I did not find this movie to be predictable, but my mom and my friend Andrew both said they predicted everything, except the ending that blew everyone away. Some of you will be happy to hear that contrary to popular belief this movie has absolutely nothing to do with Scarlett Johansson playing tennis.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older