Reviewed by Tim Wong

AN UNEXPECTED thrill, Woody Allen takes a chance with Match Point. It’s his most daring, reinvigorating film in years – a flight of passage across the Atlantic, where you imagine he’ll plant Kubrickian roots given the renewed critical success. His once-unshakable New York cult now seems a world away, having firmly made way for London by way of the cosseted English upper class sphere: polo, duck hunting, tea parties, lawn tennis. Such newfound leisure pursuits fall in the lap of Chris Wilton – former tennis pro turned sweetie-darling of the adorable (and exceedingly rich) Chloe. The safe, pragmatic choice, she’s his Martina Hingis; Nola, a struggling actress and one-in-a-million bombshell, is his Kournikova.

And so begins a rally between the practical and the impulsive: corporate perks, a penthouse apartment and box seat opera on one side; hot passionate sex with Scarlett Johansson on the other. Allen allows the film to peter out as Wilton’s doubles game wears thin, while the mismatch between wife and mistress widens to a insurmountable 6-1 6-1 gap: an unwavering Chloe couldn’t be nicer (same goes for Emily Mortimer), while Johansson morphs rapidly from wet shirted temptress to screaming hysterical broad. And then the ball hits the net chord. Two-sets-to-love down, Allen serve 'n' volleys the film into an altogether absurd strategic riposte. It’s a game of two halves that’s impossible to buy at first (and yet nowhere near as ridiculous as Kim Ki-duk's sadist-romances), but by the fifth set tiebreaker, Allen’s comeback is complete. No mistaking that Woody has traded in comedy for tragedy here; the writing on the wall when Nola quips to Wilton that she likes his "aggressive game". So content to hit deep from the baseline in recent years, Allen risks everything at the net, and with winning results. Well played.

» Woody Allen | UK/USA | 2005 | In theatres now