I saw Match Point yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wonder where this Woody Allen has been all these years? I don't know how much I want to delve into the plot because I don't want to spoil the movie's ending. So I will say that there is a dramatic shift in tone in the movie's third act that puts a whole new spin on what we've seen beforehand. I'll also say that there's one legendary filmmaking icon that immediately came to mind when the movie was over but I won't mention that name for fear that it may give too much away.

Something you may not have known: Reggie has only seen three previous Woody Allen films before Match Point in their entirety. Even though I own New York Stories on DVD -- that's the anthology film Allen did with Francis Ford Coppola and Marty Scorsese -- I've only watched the Scorsese portion of it. The last Allen film I saw in a theater I also really loved, that was Sweet & Lowdown.

Something else you may not have known but really shouldn't be all that surprised by: Reggie has never read Crime and Punishment. It was never required at my high school nor was I required to read it in any English courses I took in kawlidge. I know what you're thinking, "how can you work in a bookstore and not have read Crime and Punishment?" Easy, I always thought of myself as working in a music store that sold books. Truth be told, I know more about classical music than I do classic literature. I ain't completely ignorant (the irony of that last sentence is intentional) I am very aware of what the classics are and as far as C&P goes I am somewhat aware of the plot. Enough to know that Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho is somewhat of an 80s update on it. But I've never read it.

(Note: how do you know I've worked at a bookstore for 7 years? I was able to spell Dostoevsky without having to look up the spelling. It's the same reason I know how to not only spell but pronounce Saint-Saens? 'Cuz I've worked in the music section for most of those 7 years.)

The fact of the matter is this, I saw the movie with someone who had read it and was clearly able to pick up references in the movie's storyline that were basically lost on me. Yet we both walked out of the movie with the same opinion which was that this is one amazing little picture. So it works well whether you've read Dostoevsky or not. It works because the characters are well written and the direction is crisp. I like how Woody Allen uses music from what sounds like a phonograph on the soundtrack. I believe he does this in Sweet & Lowdown as well. It just goes to show you that having some big, booming operatic Howard Shore conducted score really isn't always necessary.

There is one big plot twist that I think anyone should be able to see a mile away but it doesn't matter because what's more important is how are the main characters going to REACT to that twist. There's another sequence that I found kinda hokey and really not consistent with the rest of the movie. I suppose Allen thought this sequence was necessary to reveal a certain level of guilt the main character (played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is feeling but I don't think it was necessary since we see all that we need to see on his face a few scenes earlier.

There's also a part of me that wishes the turning point in the film had come much much earlier. I suppose the wait is well worth it since it allows us to see more of the natural chemistry between the two stars.

Whatever, the movie works quite well for me. I've tried not to give too much away but have probably failed. It's hard to write about a movie like this because you don't want to ruin the entire experience for those who haven't seen it. I feel proud of myself for writing this entire review without saying the name of the (click here at your own expense) person I mentioned in the first paragraph.

And I still haven't ;)