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Thursday, 04 May 2006 |
By D. W. O'Dell
On April 25 DVDs were released of two films that were small, elegant exercises almost too delicate to be burdened with a portentous word like, “Masterpiece.” Both deserved larger audiences than they found in theaters; hopefully more people will find them on DVD as both can be appreciated on the small screen (i.e. they don’t have lots of explosions).
 Match Point is Woody Allen’s first good movie since . . . ummm 1993’s Manhattan Murder Mystery. Almost everything Woody Allen has done since 1993 has been varying degrees of piffle. I didn’t even like those few films that critics didn’t bash, such as Deconstructing Harry (a movie about a writer with writer’s block is a lazy way to work through plot ideas without resolution). So when critics raved about Match Point, I was deeply skeptical. But it was true - at age 70, the Woodman was back.
The thing that impressed me the most about Manhattan Murder Mystery was that the mystery plot was actually quite ingenious; I was disappointed that it wasn’t nominated for an Edgar Mystery Award. Match Point also plays it straight with its mystery elements, although it recalls the Ripley novels of Patricia Highsmith more than the noir classics of Hammett and Chandler.
The film is about a British tennis player (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who marries into a wealthy family. His idyllic existence is disrupted by an American woman (Scarlett Johansson) who is engaged to his friend and brother-in law. They begin an affair that threatens the easy, pleasant life he’s managed to create, and ultimately he must take desperate steps to maintain his status quo. All the while Mr. Allen reinforces his theme, which is that it is better to be lucky than smart.
Mr. Allen gets good work from his actors, as one would expect from a director who’s directed four actors to Oscars (Diane Keaton, Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest, and Mira Sorvino). I was shocked Ms. Johansen didn’t garner a supporting actress Oscar nomination, given the quality of her acting and her hot status following Lost in Translation. Of course, Woody Allen got a nomination for Best Screenplay; his 14th (which sounds really impressive until you realize he got screenplay nominations for junk like Alice[i/] and [i]Mighty Aphrodite).
I have no information on the DVD contents but I assume Woody Allen doesn’t deviate from his habit of not supplying commentary tracks. As long as it’s because he’s making another film as good as Match Point, however, I don’t mind.
 Shopgirl is almost good enough to allow you to forgive Steve Martin for Cheaper By the Dozen 2 and The Pink Panther (almost; I guess a guy’s gotta buy paintings). It captures the same offbeat tone as Martin’s L.A. Story, one of the unheralded masterpieces of the 1990’s (if you haven’t seen it, go out and rent it. Go now; I’ll wait...).
Shopgirl, based on Martin’s novella (who writes novellas these days?) features a luminous Claire Danes in the title role, a woman with massive college debt who is working in a dreary job as a clerk at an upscale Beverley Hills store in the glove department (not compartment). She attracts the attentions of an older, uber-wealthy businessman (Martin), as well as those of a significantly less successful musician her own age (Jason Schwartzman in full loser mode).
The script has several instances of Martin’s quirky wit, and Danes makes her character, Mirabelle, so sympathetic that you are almost tempted to shout advice for her at the screen. Danes has an open face and an inner glow that imbue Mirabelle with a depth only hinted at in the script. I thought Danes deserved an Oscar nomination for Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, and ten years later she still radiates innocence and intelligence.
Match Point grossed only $23 million; that has to be a record for a Woody Allen film. The universally praised Bullets Over Broadway, which inexplicably got 7 Oscar nominations, only grossed $13 million (Woody Allen maintains that Annie Hall is the lowest grossing film ever to win Best Picture; I think that distinction might go to Oliver!).
Shopgirl raked in an even more paltry $10 million. Hopefully the DVD release of these two films will allow them to find a wider audience. If you are looking for films that have emotional explosions but not actual ones, these are two films you want to seek out.
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