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Woody's back in the game with 'Match Point'

The 21st century has been rough on Woody Allen fans. Six years isn't long for some filmmakers to have a dry spell, but the famously prolific Allen has delivered so many clunkers since his last truly good film (1999's "Sweet and Lowdown") that many devotees have hoped he'd retire and let us enjoy our memories.

Whether credit goes to a change of scenery (this latest feature is set in London) or of mood (after a string of half-baked comedies, a dark drama), "Match Point" is the breath of fresh air Allen's filmography desperately needed — even if that "fresh air" is dank with greed, lust and guilt.

DreamWorks Pictures 'Match Point' 4 out of 5 stars The verdict: Woody Allen serves an ace with this dark drama. Director: Woody Allen Starring: Brian Cox, Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Run time: 124 minutes Release date: Dec. 28, 2005 Rating: R for some sexuality. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Match Point'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Like "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Match Point" mixes adultery with more deadly sins. But it starts with something as small as class envy: Chris, a tennis pro of humble means (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, whose dark eyes don't reveal his desires but suggest the things he'd do to attain them) is befriended by the Hewetts, an upper-crust family so comfortable with privilege it doesn't occur to them that he might exploit their friendship.

Chris has a knack for letting people know what he wants without asking for it outright. Before long, he's being taken care of by the family's daughter Chloe, whose infatuation with him makes her look like the needy one. When Chris marries Chloe, it will be practically incest if he gives in to temptation with Scarlett Johansson's overpoweringly sexy Nola, the American fiancˇe of his new bride's brother Tom Hewett.

Chris does give in, of course, and the result is one of the welcome surprises in "Match Point": compelling sex scenes in a Woody Allen film.

Another surprise is that, by not casting himself and avoiding the alter-ego characters who have wandered nervously through his oeuvre, Allen has freed himself up to present us with engaging, unexpected characters. Actors trample each other to get cast in an Allen film, but once there they almost invariably become little splinters of Woody, sacrificing some of their gifts in service of his tics and obsessions. Here, a uniformly brilliant ensemble creates a world outside Woodysville — from Brian Cox as the Hewetts' patriarch, Emily Mortimer as the doting daughter, Chloe, to Matthew Goode as Tom, the family heir who is good for nothing but so charismatic we enjoy watching him despite ourselves.

Crime and punishment are the film's concerns from the outset, but the plot takes its time before showing us any actual felonies — giving us plenty of time to wonder just how bad things are going to get, who's going to get the worst of it, and how much each of these characters (none of whom is exactly worth our admiration) deserves it.

Aside from the well-to-do setting and some high-culture allusions, there's precious little on the surface here to identify "Match Point" as a Woody Allen film. It may sound backhanded to make that a selling point, but it would be a shame if moviegoers stayed home because they thought his latest was just another in a string of maybe-this-time comebacks. Instead, this is a gripping tale that stands on its own, with a Cult of Woody membership card not required for appreciation.