VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA
***
Cannes Film Festival
Coming to UK soon
Two beautiful American girls become entangled in Barcelona with a macho Spanish painter and his unstable ex-wife in Woody Allen’s often cliché-ridden rom-com. But since the girls are played by Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall, the painter is Javier Bardem and the ex-wife is Penelope Cruz, you can’t deny there’s some fun to be had. And even a little point to the exercise.
The film is like one of those romantic novelettes that have little or no literary merit but are read by millions and it would be no surprise to find some at least regarding it as Allen’s comeback movie. You know it’s daft but you end up having a good time watching it. And since Cannes this year seems full to the brim of downbeat if praiseworthy films, this frothy entertainment, together with its tourist-eye views of Barcelona and Oviedo, hit the button with its audiences here.
The plot has so many twists and turns that it would take a whole chapter to describe them. Suffice just to say that Hall is engaged to a nice bore and determined to be faithful, while Johansson takes any new romance as a welcome diversion from the pains of unrequited love.
The painter knows this and quietly sets about seducing them both, all the while claiming that he still loves his ex-wife even though she’s impossible to live with. When she returns home and shrieks at him, indulging in the sideline of a lesbian bout with Johansson, the sparks begin to fly.
A decent screenplay, and more than decent acting, sustain the frolic which is at least a deal better than Woody’s recent offerings. By the end, you have to admit a certain enjoyment, even if the brain rebukes the heart as you do so. Is Woody on the way back? Could be.
