VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008): Love corrida a la Woody Allen
December 19th 2008 11:55
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Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) enjoying themselves in Barcelona
Penelope Cruz as Maria Elena, Juan Antonio’s not-quite-ex ex spices things up, bringing chemistry and intimacy to the proceedings (her off-screen romance with Bardem rubs off a little) and seducing everyone in sight. Unless she decides to shoot everyone in sight. That is what makes her exciting to be around apparently, those Spaniards are like that you see, a little unpredictable. Much like the New Yorkers, if we take Allen’s oeuvre into consideration. One can detect a slight note of bitterness (or cynicism) across the 73 year-old director’s last films, although it doesn’t make them any less enjoyable or entertaining, but rather adds another dimension to his quirky, thoughtful analyses of human behaviour and its consequences.
Woody Allen explains to his stars Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson that threesomes can be fun, on the set of Vicky Cristina Barcelona
A much lighter if not less ironic film than Mr Allen’s last memorable venture, the gripping and confrontational Match Point (2005), also starring Johansson, the amusingly effervescent Vicky Cristina Barcelona deals with Allen’s favourite subject: love relationships and the endless (and apparently futile in Allen-world) search for happiness and emotional fulfilment. And yes, the film’s unavoidable conclusion looms deliciously in the air: love is no more, no less than…tapas. Intense, ephemeral, often unexpected: to be savoured bite by scrumptious bite. And if love affairs don’t last very long? Oh well, it’s not the end of the world. Relationships make us grow, don’t they? Make a mental note to compare the first and last shots of Vicky and Cristina in the movie, they are telling.
Review by Patricia Bieszk
© Copyright P. Bieszk 2008
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