This spellbinding film has plenty of style, tension and sizzling scenes. This is not an easy film to watch, it is very well acted and I felt for all the characters, even the annoying mother-in-law (Eleanor Hewett).
Affairs destory lives and you are painfully aware how all three sides suffer horridibly.
The plot make is loosely based around Crime and Punishment but there is a twist. An important additional element is luck:
What's a guy to do when his luck runs out? Production notes for Match Point say, "A clue to Chris's true character might be found in his well-worn copy of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment." But Dostoyevsky is Allen's McGuffin. Chris is no Raskolnikov, so deeply and desperately in debt to his landlady that he murders her with an ax and then, when her sister unexpectedly returns, murders her, too. Just as Allen develops the basic plot of An American Tragedy for Match Point , Chris develops Raskolnikov's dumb and self-destructive alibi for a perfect crime. But there is an amusing parallel with Dostoyevsky in Chris's meeting with two detectives who briefly consider, then totally reject, the notion that Chris is the killer.
The film is peppered with hint and clues and even a false lead (when the ring fails to tip into the Thames, I perceived this as a sign that his luck had run out). This film reminds me of "The Others" in that despite for most of film there is little violence, bad language or anyone even raising their voice; it builds incredible tension, it is hard to stay in your seat.
Another aspect of the theme of the movie which caught my attention, was the perfect manners and grace of the rich and powerful. It wasn't about talent, hard work as much "perfect poise":
Lastly the following (from wiki) details the opera works behind this film:
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack consists almost entirely of pre-World War I 78 rpm recordings of opera arias sung by Italian tenor Enrico Caruso.
Opera connoisseurs have noted that the arias and opera extracts make an ironic commentary on the actions of the characters and sometimes foreshadow developments in the movie's narrative.[6][citation needed] The Caruso arias are intercut with extracts from contemporary performances which the characters attend over the course of the film. There are scenes at the Royal Opera House and elsewhere performed by opera singers ("La Traviata" performed by Janis Kelly and Alan Oke, "Rigoletto" performed by Mary Hegarty), accompanied by a piano (performed by Tim Lole) and not, as is usual, by an orchestra (for saving money).
Arias and extracts include work by Verdi (in particular Macbeth, La Traviata, Il Trovatore and Rigoletto), Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles, Carlos Gomes' Salvatore Rosa sung by Caruso. The romanza Una furtiva lagrima from L'elisir d'amore is featured repeatedly, including during the opening credits.
Neighbour Mrs. Eastby (Margaret Tyzack) is listening to budget price Naxos CD "Operatic Duets for Tenor and Baritone" by Janez Lotric & Igor Morozov (Gioachino Rossini's Guglielmo Tell from "Arresta", then Verdi' Otello from the murder scene "Desdemona") when she is shot by Chris.
A portion of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Woman in White is heard while Emily Mortimer is waiting for Jonathan Rhys Meyers at Palace Theatre.
The movie's trailer features the song "Postscript" by the Irish band Autamata, vocals by Carol Keogh, though this is not featured in the movie itself.
The following arias and songs from the soundtrack are available as MP3 downloads from the Internet Archive:
- "Una furtiva lagrima" by Enrico Caruso
- "Mal reggendo all'aspro assalto" by Enrico Caruso
- "Mi par d'udir ancora" by Enrico Caruso
- "Mia piccirella" by Enrico Caruso
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Point
McGuffin, MacGuffin ((film) a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot) "the McGuffin was a key element of Alfred Hitchcock's films"
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