Grade: BThere is something warm and comforting about seeing the opening credits to a Woody Allen film. So familiar. So consistent. Speaking of opening credits, if the title of this film makes you tilt your head slightly, picture it as it appears on screen:
Vicky
Cristina
Barcelona
The film is about two characters: the conservative and rational Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and the sexual free spirit Cristina (Scarlett Johansson). Together they spend a summer in Barcelona and become entangled in the life of a charming painter named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) and, eventually, his crazy ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz).
Complicating things even more is Vicky’s engagement to Doug, a straight edged business executive who she slowly begins to perceive as a bit dull and not the man she may want to spend the rest of her life with.
Tying all these things together is plenty of no-nonsense, matter of fact narration courtesy of Christopher Evan Welch. I mention his name because too often narrators (save Morgan Freeman) do not get the credit they deserve. Or more often lately, a character will narrate the film instead of a third party. Thankfully, Woody Allen does narration right with this film. It is consistent in tone and frequency. I’ve seen too many movies where someone will narrate throughout the first twenty minutes and we never hear from them again until the epilogue.
However, consistent and proper though it may be, this particular narration actually worked against the film more than it helped. Unlike The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (which has the best narration I’ve ever heard in terms of both writing and delivery) Barcelona’s words seem stale and lifeless. There is just no flair in the language to keep you enticed.
This lack of flare is an overriding problem for the entirety of the film. Once it reaches its stride about 45 minutes in, it stays on the same level for the duration of the film. It doesn’t feel like a roller coaster ride, it isn’t even particularly dramatic. It’s too flat.
A little more humor may have helped balance out all the same note drama but there are hardly any laughs either (which could have been fixed if Jeremy Piven played Doug). But as it stands, Woody Allen takes a pretty good story and tells it well but that doesn’t hold a candle to the magnificence of the much, much more enjoyable Match Point.
Don’t get me wrong; the film has plenty of qualities. It is superbly acted, includes some very visually appealing locations, and executes narration well, among other things. It just doesn’t pack much of a punch and has no re-watch value.
BOTTOM LINE: As you would expect from Woody Allen it is a well-made film, it just isn’t up to his level when it comes to being engaging. See Match Point instead, if you haven’t already.