Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Moving away from New York has been beneficial for Woody Allen. Though I haven’t seen last year’s “Cassandra’s Dream,†the past few years have been inspiring for the Woodman, starting with his underrated 2005 concept piece “Melinda & Melindaâ€- which had a tour de force performance by Radha Mitchell- and continuing with his London-set thriller “Match Point,†the witty 2006 mystery “Scoop,†and now this Spain-set dramedy, which is witty, smart, sexy and erotic, though not necessarily in that order. It’s one of his best films in years.
Vicky and Cristina (“The Prestige†co-stars Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson, respectively) are American students in Spain for the summer with friends of Vicky’s parents (played by Kevin Dunn and the always-reliable Patricia Clarkson). Vicky is engaged to be married to Doug, a businessman back in New York as well as studying Spanish architecture. Cristina, on the other hand, is more of a free spirit; she’s not quite sure what she wants out of life or love, but she- as the narrator tells us- knows what she doesn’t want. She does know she has much to express to the world; she’s not sure of how she wants to express it (the 12-minute short film she just completed not helping her any). Out on the town, they both are approached by Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a handsome and charming Spanish painter whose breakup with his wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) made headlines. He invites the pair for a weekend in the country of site-seeing and love-making. Vicky is amused by his audacity; Cristina is immediately taken by his charm. Reluctantly, Vicky agrees and the two begin a saga of love and lust that will transform both and reinforce beliefs in the nature of love both have long shared.
No fair giving away more, except that Cristina ends up with Juan Antonio, Vicky reluctantly agrees to Doug’s idea of getting married in Spain, and both lives are changed when Maria Elena re-enters Juan Antonio’s life after attempting suicide. In a lot of ways, it’s a setup for a sitcom sex comedy, and a chance for Allen to recapture his comic touch in how men and women interact, something he seemed to lose in his self-indulgent neurosis in films like “Celebrity,” “Deconstructing Harry,” “Hollywood Ending,” and “Anything Goes.”
Helping matters is a cast more known for dramatic roles, or at least offbeat projects (by offbeat talent), than comedy. Johansson is now in her third film of Allen’s, and she’s clicking on all cylinders of charm and sexiness as the over-thinking but vibrant Cristina, who finds herself in an odd predicament when Maria Elena comes to live with her and Juan Antonio, which gets even odder when it’s obvious the former couple still have fire for each other. Hall is the film’s emotional center as Vicky, who over-thinks things also, but always seems uneasy around the ones she cares about after the weekend with Cristina and Juan Antonio- after a thankless role in “The Prestige,” Hall holds her own in this prestigious cast directed by a comedy legend. Best of all, though, are Cruz and Bardem, both veterans of the films of Pedro Almodovar, world cinema’s most gifted filmmaker when it comes to lacing erotic pull with offbeat humor. That experience serves them well, and Allen better; both coming off Oscar nominations in their last major roles (Cruz for Almodovar’s “Volver,” Bardem for his win in “No Country for Old Men”), and neither afraid of the left turns the Woodman gives them- Cruz all neurotic madness (with just the right glint of erotic charge), Bardem all suave artiste, just as imposing between the sheets as he is when he’s making his latest work of art. The four make a love square that bristles with heat, humor, and heart, something that’s been missing from Allen’s comedies for a long time. Hopefully, it won’t go missing for a long time to come.
