Woody Allen: Big pimpin', spendin' cheese.Movie: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Rating: B+
Two beautiful women. An exotic man. A beautiful city, and enough alcohol to inebriate a small country.
While this may sound like Cinnemax After Dark’s soft-core feature, it’s not: It’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, the latest Woody Allen joint.
The movie follows Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), college friends escaping to Barcelona for a summer away from their normal lives. They are immediately established as two completely contrasting personalities.
Vicky is conventional and structured. Set to be married to a wealthy businessmen (Chris Messina), Vicky believes that she knows exactly what she wants in life and love. Cristina is free-spirited, restless, and eager to explore the world for every possible equation that life can offer.
The pair soon meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a local Spanish artist who offers to whisk them off to the exotic town of Oviedo. Vicky express immediate contempt at the forward offer, but the curious and adventurous Cristina convinces her friend to take the chance.
Oviedo brings out the best in the trio, and both women experience separate passionate encounters with the provocative Juan Antonio. Vicky, ashamed of her feelings, tries to stifle her fondness for Juan Antonio by jumping into immediate marriage upon her return to Barcelona. Cristina and Juan Antonio, however, become lovers and move in together.
Best friends having sex with the same dude? Utter jealousy? Unhappy marriages? What else could one man bring into the drama filled flick?
Oh, that’s right. An insane (and electrifyingly beautiful) ex-wife.
When Juan Antonio’s ex-wife, Maria Alena (Penelope Cruz) attempts suicide, she runs to Juan Antonio for help. Their broken marriage still filled with passion and love, Juan Antonio encourages Maria Alena to accept Cristina’s role in his life and get to know the young tourist herself.
I won’t give the rest away, but I urge you to watch it for yourself.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona is not your typical Woody Allen flick. It’s a comedy without a trace of his dry wit and sarcasm. Instead, Allen looks at the comedic spectrum of human life through a specific lens: brutal honesty.
What results is a character study with an array of terrific performances. Shining most vibrantly is Cruz, who chain-smokes and psychotically takes over your mind with her sex appeal and frank dialogue. She’s a vision, and commands the viewer with all the intensity that the character of Maria Alena calls for.
Sharing Cruz’s spotlight is Hall. She delivers the conflict of Vicky with an understated conviction. The viewer is able to see Vicky’s mental battle through her eyes, making her the most believable in the film. Both Cruz and Hall nabbed Golden Globe nominations for their roles, and both completely deserve them. Bardem is also nominated for his quietly cunning, but ultimately loving performance as Juan Antonio.
Woody Allen’s current obsession, Johansson, falls flat next to her dynamic cast mates. While her performance as the forever unsatisfied Cristina is pleasant, it lacks the drive and intellect that the character deserves. Not only that, she looks like a guppy standing next to her shark-like co-stars.
Another flaw in the movie is the narration. The narrator (an unaccredited Christopher Evan Welch) is useless; and makes the audience feel dumb with his “no shit, Sherlock” commentary. He tells us a lot of things we could have figured out on our own (ex, “Vicky and Cristina are going sight-seeing”), and brings down the pace of the movie. The narration is the greasy wheel in what is a vibrant and flowing cinematic machine.
With a series of great performances and a breathtakingly gorgeous setting, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a multi-faceted success that proves that even at 72, Woody Allen is capable of keeping it fresh.
And if that isn’t reason to see this critically lauded film, then just a hint: Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz have a hot make out scene. Not even kidding.
No comments:
Post a Comment