So, on to my first "proper" review since starting this blog...
Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Christina (Scarlett Johansson) are two young American women who spend a summer in Barcelona in Woody Allen's latest European comedy drama. Whilst there they encounter a bohemian Spanish artist (Javier Bardem) and are soon drawn into a complicated web of relationships with both him and his slightly psychotic ex-wife (Penélope Cruz).
I enjoyed this - I will admit to only having seen a few of Woody Allen's films so I can't really comment on how well it compares to his other work but it is entertaining, albeit in a very lightweight manner. The narrative is simple, to the extent where most of the plot development is relayed by an anonymous narrator, giving the impression that you are actually just watching selected scenes from a movie with someone explaining the bits that are missing. On the plus side, having visited Barcelona myself, there was the added cool factor of "hey, I've been there" every so often throughout the film.
The acting is generally very good, with Cruz being the most impressive - that said, I feel she was probably lucky to win a Supporting Actress Oscar given that she has fairly limited screen time and isn't that good. I feel that this is a further indication of the weak year that last year was for cinema. I do feel sorry for British actress Rebecca Hall, who despite playing arguably the main character in the film was almost completely overlooked in the marketing in favour of more famous names - just look at the poster above.
My biggest problem with the film is undoubtedly the ending - or should I say, lack of one. The story just kind of stops and the credits roll without much in the way of resolution for any of the characters, leaving very little impression at all.
VERDICT: Enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.
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