Loosen up, guys
The Independent, not one of my favorite papers at the best of times, has a story on the filming of Match Point. (Actually, it’s the Independent on Sunday, but never mind.)I don’t know what they asked their sources — probably something stupid about “how do you feel about the picture we get from London in this flick” — but they all gave pretty inane answers (emphases mine):
Guys, relax. It’s a movie. Fiction. A story. It’s not even about you, or the Brits in general, or London, or class, or the kind of cultural details only smart Brits will spot in the most cultured city on earth.Geoff Andrew, programmer for the National Film Theatre in London, said [Match Point] could have been better. “It’s not one of those sloppy pieces like Curse of the Jade Scorpion or Hollywood Ending which were one-joke films. At least it makes dramatic sense and it’s well acted for the most part. But it’s a rather peculiar take on London life. There’s an awful lot of picture postcard stuff. It didn’t really feel very meaty.”
Jonathan Romney, film critic for The Independent on Sunday, said Allen had told the same story, more or less, before. “The story of the man who has the perfect life and has to commit murder was done much better in [Allen’s 1989 film] Crimes and Misdemeanours,” he said.
“I thought this was rather contrived and flat and old-fashioned. I just get the impression that Allen wasn’t really taking advice from the right people about the kind of cultural details that people will spot in Britain.”
But Nick James, editor of Sight and Sound magazine, said it could well be the film to persuade Americans to take another look at Allen’s work. “It will work well in the States because it gives a very tourist eye’s view of Britain.”
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