Match Point
REVIEWS
MOVIE
In tennis when the ball hits the net there is a moment in which it could go either way. Luck determines who comes out victorious. The same can be said for moments in life and it is this preoccupation with luck that concerns Match Point. Woody Allen's latest is, thankfully, (ahem, Anything Else) not your average Woody Allen film.
Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro now reduced to giving the British elite tennis lessons. One day he meets Tom (Matthew Goode) who instantly takes him in, and introduces him to his upper crust family including his beautiful, yet fragile, sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer). Chris immediately latches on to the wealthy lifestyle afforded to him by his attachment to Chloe. Enter Nola (Scarlett Johansson), Tom's fiancée and a little bundle of seduction. Chris and Nola quickly engage a lurid affair and soon Chris must choose between his life of comfort and a life of passion.
Allen blends the genres of romance, comedy and erotic thriller
beautifully. Match Point is intense when you least expect it and you find your mind boggled that the man behind The Curse of the Jade Scorpion could possibly have directed it, let alone written it. The cynicism on display makes for an uncomfortable experience that feels almost illicit. These characters are not good people, yet we are on their side. Allen's ability
★★★ Worth the drive to KC.
Lindsey Ramsey
to cast and then watch is clearly on display and his actors are the show. He doesn't interfere. Beautiful people making out, cynicism, London views, murder, intrigue and humor? Welcome back, Woodster. You are better than ever.
THEATRE
A RAISIN IN THE SUN
The Kansas City Repertory Theater's production of Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun opened Friday night to a packed auditorium. Directed by Lou Bellamy, the production of the 1950's play about dreams and hardship among the member's of a black family in the south side of Chicago did not disappoint. The sets and the costumes were particularly noteworthy in their affect of realism.
The cast was proficient with Franchelle Stewart Dorn blazing the trail as Lena Younger. Dorn's ability to carry her character through the ups and downs of the story enthralled the audience, bringing both laughter and reverent silence at the appropriate times.
Shana Williams and David Alan Anderson both gave passable performances as Ruth and Walter Lee Younger. They played the emotion of the story rather well but sometimes coherence was sacrificed for shouting. Bakesta King was an entertaining Beneatha Younger, gamling the play with wonderful mood swings and excellent stem looks. Rasson Wofford's young Travis, Adeoye's Asagai, Kyle Haden's George Murchison, Larry Paulsen's Karl Linder, and Damron Armstrong's Bobo also lent highlight to the show.
Full of feeling, comedy, importance and the lessons of life's dreams and realities; KCRT's performance fills a Kansas City evening perfectly. The show is well worth the price of admission and almost worth the drive to the University of Missouri's Kansas City campus.
Ben Smith
01.26.2006 JAYPLAY
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