Match Point

Last night I saw Woody Allen's latest film, "Match Point." I was just blown away - it was one of the best Allen films I've ever seen, and the best movie I've seen all year. Don't worry, I won't spoil the story. I will say that it was a tense, extremely skillful meditation on the role of luck and choice in human affairs. The movie's opening scene presents the basic problem - how much does luck determine what happens to us, as opposed to hard work, talent, or virtue? Is it better to be lucky or good? The main character is a moral nihilist who believes that one's fate is essentially random - the good are as likely to suffer as prosper. It also challenges the idea that there is a God, based on the old "problem of evil" - if God is all powerful and good, then why do bad things happen to good people? And it does so without getting bogged down in any sort of preachiness.

What I find interesting about this film isn't just the well-drawn story, but the fact that Allen sorts through a sophisticated ethical question (perhaps THE ethical question) with a great degree of skill, and without boring his audience. The role of greek ethics, Macbeth, and Christian theology is there if you're paying attention, but Allen doesn't hit the audience over the head with it. It's a remarkable performance for a man who's been making movies for 30 years, and anyone who doesn't see it is missing out.