Match Point (2005)

Woody Allen moved to London and wrote dialogue that sounds like nobody in London has ever talked. Characters announce their feelings in full paragraphs, opera swells under scenes of rich people shopping for art, and the first hour plays like a polite brochure for country houses. Jonathan Rhys Meyers makes Chris a handsome blank, which fits a guy who climbs by agreeing with everyone, but it’s hard to root for or against a mirror. Then Scarlett Johansson strolls up to a ping pong table and the movie gets a pulse. Her Nola is funny, restless and a little reckless, the only person on screen who says what she wants. Emily Mortimer is sweet and painfully eager as Chloe. Once the story turns, it gets cold and nervous in a way Allen rarely tries. It made $85.6 million worldwide on a reported $15M. A 7.3 because the dread pays off even when the talking never sounds human. $18.12 says you watch a tennis ball clip the top of the net and hold your breath like it owes you money.

What works: Scarlett Johansson brings real heat and nerves to Nola, and the final stretch is some of the most suspenseful filmmaking of Woody Allen’s career.

What doesn’t: The dialogue is stiff and over-explained, and the first hour of country-house small talk drags before the story finds its spine.

Who it’s for: People who like slow-burn thrillers about bad choices and want to argue about luck on the way home.