Woody Allen wrote and directed this movie; however, unlike most of his movies, he doesn’t actually appear in it.  This also happens to be his first movie that was filmed entirely in England.  He was able to pull together a wonderful cast; each actor really suits their part.

The story centers around Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers).  He is a young man from Ireland that has recently relocated to London.  He grew up very poor and is trying to change his fortune.  Chris was a professional tennis player, however, that wasn’t providing him with the lifestyle he wanted.  So he gives that up and becomes a tennis instructor at an exclusive country club, hoping that it will provide more opportunity for him to move up in the world.

Chris is quite the charmer, plus he spends his free time studying things like Dostoyevsky and listening to opera.  He is setting himself up so that he can successfully integrate himself into the world of the wealthy.  It doesn’t take long before he is befriended by Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode).  Tom is from a very wealthy family and definitely lives the good life.

Tom’s family has private box seats to the opera, so after learning that Chris loves opera he invites him to attend with his family.  In addition to Tom’s parents being in attendance, his sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer) is also there.  Of course, she is immediately taken with Chris and it doesn’t take long for them to become involved.

Chloe’s parents are equally as impressed with Chris.  So when Chloe tells her father that Chris is looking for a new line of work, he quickly finds a position for him at one of his companies.  A well paying one, I might add.  Chris finds himself living the type of life that he has dreamed of.

Things are going well for Chris until he is invited to attend a weekend gathering at the Hewett family home in the country.  There he meets a beautiful, sensual woman named Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson).  There is an immediate spark between them.  Come to find out Nola is Tom’s fiancée.  Chris finds he just can’t stop thinking about her.

As you can imagine things get even more complicated as time goes on.  Chris finds himself in Nola’s company quite often since their fiancée’s are brother and sister.  The sexual tension between them keeps building, until the inevitable happens.

This is an interesting, well paced film that starts out as a story about people’s wants, needs and relationships; which ends up turning into a thriller.  I really enjoyed this movie.  It’s an interesting look at human nature and how far they will go to get what they want.

Both Jonathan and Scarlett are amazing in this.  They are both wonderful actors in their own right, but when you put them together they really burn up the screen.  Not to mention, they are both absolutely gorgeous and just ooze sensuality; which is just what is needed for the characters they are portraying.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Tom – “It’s just that it’s 5:00 somewhere, darling, and I’ve some serious cocktails to start making.”

Nola – “I was doing just fine until you showed up.”

Chris – “Ah, the story of my life.”

Chris – “I’m naturally competitive.  Is it off-putting?”

Nola – “I’ll have to think about that for a while.”

Chloe – “Papa says he’s heard great things.  You’re a very clever boy.”

Chris – “Where are you going?”

Nola – “Oh, I’m just having a nervous breakdown.”

Chris – “Why?”

Nola – “Well, I have an audition in ten minutes and, uh.  As usual, my confidence level, which started off at a ten, is now at a zero.”

Chris – “I’m sure she’s not more beautiful than you are.”

Nola – “He saw me across the room and he honed in on me, like a guided missile.”

Nola – “You’re gonna do very well for yourself, unless you blow it.”

Chris – “And how am I going to blow it.”

Nola – “By making a pass at me.”

Chris – “Where was all this confidence when you needed it in the audition?”

Chloe – “His shooting’s not really up to his tennis, poor thing.”

Alec – “He’s right, Eleanor.  I think you’ve had one too many G and T’s.”

Chris – “I like it when you drink.  You get flirtatious.”

Jan

P.S.  Comments are welcomed.  Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”.  Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.

Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers.  If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

Wow, what an amazing performance by Jonathan during the scenes when Chris kills Nola and the elderly lady next door.  I love the range of emotions he goes through; it makes the scenes feel so realistic.  Starting off so shaky that he can barely put the shotgun together, to calmly and cold bloodedly pulling the trigger and then having a bit of a meltdown over what he has done.

The scene when Chris tosses the wedding ring is great.  I love the slo-mo visual as it goes towards the water, but then it hits the railing and bounces back (unbeknownst to Chris).  Only in this case instead of losing the match as you would in tennis, it’s actually the thing that makes him come out on top.

 Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) was a reporter. He was good at his job and well respected by his peers. He has just received the scoop of a lifetime, but unfortunately for him, he is dead. Which, as you can imagine, makes it rather difficult for him to follow up on the lead. He finds a way to momentarily escape death in order to tell Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) what he has heard.

Sondra is a college student, studying journalism. She is in London for the summer visiting her friend Vivian. She and Vivian are attending a magic show when Joe appears to her with his tip. This happens when Splendini, aka Sidney Waterman (Woody Allen) has her inside a cabinet and is making her disappear. She is obviously very stunned by the encounter.

After the show, she does a bit of research and finds that there might be a story to be found. She goes back to the theater where Sidney performs to see if she goes back in the box maybe she will see Joe again. As it turns out Joe does appear and gives her more info. This time Sidney sees him too.

Sondra convinces a reluctant Sidney to help her track down Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), the man that Joe thinks is the “Tarot Card Killer”. They find him in the pool at a private club and devise a plan to meet him. Sidney’s idea works and Peter is instantly attracted to Sondra, or rather Jade Spence (the false identity she came up with). She has also decided that Sidney should pretend to be her father (maybe not one of her better ideas).

Thus begins the investigation into Peter. Sondra isn’t very good at investigative journalism. Peter, as it turns out is very charming and very wealthy. Unfortunately, for Sondra, Sidney doesn’t seem to be able to stop himself from saying and doing the most embarrassing things in front of everyone they meet. As you can imagine silliness ensues.

I loved Woody and Scarlett together. This movie really shows off her comedic ability and of course Woody is the typical Woody I know and love. The two of them really click and it is so fun to watch them play off each other and listen to their banter.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Sondra – “So I slept with him and I didn’t even get the interview. I mean, what kind of reporter am I?”

Sondra – “He could just kill at any moment.”

Sidney – “I heard that part. That’s when I knew I was gonna make other plans.”

Sidney – “Well, you’re a pretty girl. You know, I think you could probably get this guy to get interested in you.”

Sondra – “Don’t be silly.”

Sidney – “Particularly if he’s got a twisted mind.”

Sidney – “I was in the lounge. I heard you drowning. I finished my tea and scones and came immediately.”

Sondra – “If we put our heads together you’ll hear a hollow noise.”

Sondra – “You see, I can’t wear contacts. I don’t like to put my finger on my eyeball.”

Sidney – “Well, did you accomplish anything besides maybe a possible pregnancy?”

Sondra – “I’m not cut out for this. I should be flossing molars for a living.”

Sidney – “See, I never gain an ounce, because, you know my anxiety acts like aerobics.”

Sondra – “I thought you were nuts so many times I can’t recall the exact one.”

Jan

P.S. Comments are welcomed. Scroll towards the bottom of the page (below the spoiler section) to where it says “Click Here to Make a Comment”. Or on entries from previous days there is a comment box.

Following is additional information about the movie that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.

Poor Sidney, trying so hard to be the hero and save Sondra. If only he could remember to stay on the correct side of the road when driving in England. His little car was so cute!

I loved Sondra making her entrance, dripping wet, while Peter was telling the police about how she wasn’t a good swimmer and that they had met when he saved her in a swimming pool. He was shocked to find out that was all an act. Yeah, for the brief appearance by Anthony Head as one of the police officers (better known as Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

It was so sweet when Sondra dedicated her story to Joe and Sidney, without whom she would never have been able to write it.