Match Point Review: Woody Allen Asks Whether Luck is the Most Important Aspect of Our Lives

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In his film Match Point, Woody Allen asks a timeless question: does this existence have rhyme or reason to it or is it simply based on luck? Another way to frame the question might be: are we just atoms in the void or do our lives have intrinsic meaning? You probably can guess the answer for Woody Allen. The importance of luck is a major theme in his work and, I think, one which shapes his outlook on life. To him, there is no real justice; there is only luck. Luck is key to our happiness and, essentially, luck does not make sense. 

The film opens with an intriguing statement made by the protagonist as we watch a tennis ball bounce back against the top of a tennis net. Chris says, "The man who said 'I'd rather be lucky than good' saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose." Chris, a young retired tennis professional, might be expected to say the opposite. He might have said something along the lines of what Jefferson said, "I find that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have." The fact that he does not echo Jefferson indicates a lot about how he views life, talent, and success. 

After becoming an instructor at a fancy tennis club, Chris comes into contact with Tom Hewitt. Tom Hewitt is a wealthy, upper-class Brit who wants to get better at Tennis.  Upon learning that Chris likes opera, Tom, an opera enthusiast, invites him to see a performance. At the performance, Tom introduces Chris to his parents and sister.  From this point on, Chris is more or less a social parasite. Despite this fact, Chris occasionally seems to feign discomfort about being treated so well. He insists once or twice to pay for dinner or drinks and, when shown his new apartment which his father-in-law has paid for, he is chided by his wife for not realizing that his father-in-law loves to help out. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

Tom seems to take a real liking to Chris. Perhaps this has to do with their shared interest in opera and tennis. At any rate, Tom calls Chris to congratulate him on the good move of buying flowers for the family as a thank you for the opera seat. He also invites Chris to listen to more opera at his parent's house. Meanwhile, it is already clear to us from glances during the opera that Chloe, Tom's sister, is smitten with Chris. Sure enough, she shows up the next day to play tennis with him. Judging by how close Chris stands next to her, I am going to guess that he picks up on her interest and the opportunity it presents to him, pretty quickly. 

The next scene takes us to the Hewitt estate where Chris follows the sounds of a ping-pong ball to a room in which Nola, Tom's American girlfriend, and wannabe actress, has just beaten another male guest. Chris accepts her challenge to the game and slams the ball past her. The scene is almost immediately sensual. The context, a challenge seems tinged with tension in itself, but it becomes explicit when Chris takes her in his arms to show her how to hit the ball. Nola asks "Has anyone told you, 'you play an aggressive game?'" and Chris, unfazed, responds "Has anyone told you, 'you have very sensual lips?'" She comments "extremely aggressive" and he says "I'm naturally competitive."  We get a strong sense of Chris's personality here. Not only does he believe in luck, but he also believes that life is a sort of competition in which the most aggressive people get what they want. At this point, Tom walks in and announces jovially that Chris has just met his girlfriend. Nola leaves somewhat awkwardly and Chris and Tom talk. Tom explains that Nola and he have been dating for 6 months, but that his mother is not keen on him dating a struggling actress. 

Hence, we see that Nola is like Chris in many ways. Both are somewhat wannabes in their professions. Nola is not making it in her auditions and Chris, though he had a tennis career, admits that he was never that great. Both are also wannabes in terms of the Hewitt family; both want "in" to the wealthy Hewitt family, and both have romantic means of making this reality happen. Finally, both seem to feel very strong sexual tension with each other. This last point is somewhat debatable--does Nola feel it or does she just want something from Chris? 

Throughout the film, Chris goes on a quest to do whatever it takes to get everything he wants. He gives Chloe the romance she is looking for, knowing that Chloe will, in turn, secure his financial interests. Chloe does, indeed, pave the way for him in her father's investment company. He also pursues his passion for Nola. I think Nola is taken in both by Chris' looks and his ruthless philosophy. Before they have started a physical relationship, Nola and Chris have dinner with Tom and Chloe (their significant others). During dinner Chris explains his philosophy. He says that for him, ultimately, existence is meaningless and luck matters more than we would like to admit. Chloe cannot stand the dourness of the topic and exclaims that she loves life, while Tom simply makes a quip, expecting the conversation to move on to something he would find more interesting. However, from Nola's looks, we might guess that she shares Chris' melancholy. Later, we see Chris give Chloe an opera CD as a present, and it's clear, again, that she does not appreciate his melancholic side. These subtle actions are important because they suggest that at least initially Chris and Nola had something more in common than just physical passion. They may have had a similar sort of melancholy--at least, she may "get" him more than Chloe. No doubt Nola's life is difficult, filled by disappointing auditions in which she loses her nerve and, as we later learn, relationships in which to some extent she gets the short end of the stick.

After marrying Chloe, Chris continues to pine for Nola. Nonetheless, Nola, with her moodiness and instability, is not what Chris really wants.  He relies on Chloe's financial support system, her good nature and, frankly, her unobservant tendencies. This last quality is particularly useful given the solitariness which is at the core of his philosophy.  Chloe makes it easy for him to pursue an affair with Nola. One question I have, continually, is whether Nola can be blamed for being pulled in by Chris. A few reviewers, seem to think Nola is badly used by everyone. There is good evidence to argue that she is a victim. Tom insists that Nola get an abortion and then breaks up with her, and, later, Chris begs her to get one as well. She is often made to believe that she matters a lot to Chris, who tries to come across as more caring and sensitive than both the Hewitt family and the people in the audition. Nola also tries to end the relationship with Chris. On top of all this, Nola is in a vulnerable position. She is a starving artist who comes from a broken home. However, I think on some level, she must know what she is getting into. 

Nola is a complicated mixture of low self-esteem and a weird sense of confidence. She tells Chris over drinks that she is sexy, not beautiful like her sister. She opens up about attracting Tom at a party and seems self-assured in her ability to attract men. Despite her power to seduce men, she does not feel loved by Tom or really anyone in her life. Moreover, while Chris gets offered jobs and apartments, Nola knows that somehow she is always going to be an outcast. She also has learned that the way it usually works out with men is not really in her interest. It may start out steamy and exciting, but she knows it often ends badly. When she and Chris meet by chance at the Tate, Nola is defensive and does not want to start something up with Chris--"Why are you asking me these questions, aren't you still married?" "What's the point." These are her questions, but in the end, she caves in and gives Chris her number. 

This leads me to ask what Chris thinks he is getting from Nola, what his game actually is, and also why she says "yes." We certainly get evidence of their passion, but why is that enough for Chris and why for Nola? One explanation for Chris' behavior is that he finds himself in an ingenious position and feels more authentic in passion. On the surface at least, Chloe's desire to have a baby with him may draw him away from her. I tend to think this is sort of a distraction that Chris uses to explain to Nola why he does not like sleeping with Chloe. On Nola's part, we get some hints of what is going when she forces Chris to suggest he might leave his wife. Angry about her career and the fact that Chris seems to just be using her, Nola gets Chris to give a half-promise and this seems to pacify her a little. Next, we learn that Nola is pregnant and that she does not want an abortion. Nola seems to really want the real thing, a family. "I expect you to do the right thing, I'm not walking away from this." Nola's words are inspiring but Chris is still stuck. He does not want to give up what he has. A visibly distraught Chris almost spills the beans when his wife asks him point blank "Are you having an affair?" "I feel so guilty" is all he can muster.

I don't want to give away more. The movie ends with a twist of fate or luck. Yet I think it is debatable whether it is really luck or simply privilege that guides the movie. As other reviewers point out, the fact that the Hewitt's find themselves in such a good position indicates immediately that they have better luck than much of the world. The fact that Chris is young and attractive is also luck. Thus, the relationship between luck and privilege. I think Woody Allen may think he's simply making another movie about the meaningless of reality and the lack of justice in this world. Apparently, he did this before with Crimes and Misdemeanors. But I think he has done more here. I do not think the only idea at work here is that existence is meaninglessness or that, like the Sophocles quote in the movie, "Not being born is the best gift of all." 

 No, I think there's something more here. I think Woody Allen leaves us with a lot of questions. It is interesting that he chose the Othello opera to play during so much of the movie. Othello was a good man who had something evil whispered in his ear that turned him against his wife. Chris is in many ways the opposite. He seems good but is evil on the inside. Yet, at the same time, Chris and Othello are similar. Both seem to have really loved the people they hurt. Is that the paradox we are meant to see? Likewise, the female characters in the play are not really Desdemonas. Perhaps, Chloe could be the closest, but even she is happy to be loved not for who she is but for what she has, and I think it was clear that Desdemona and Othello loved each other for who they were. Nola is not really a Desdemona either. She is not an innocent woman who is betrayed. She has gone through this before, but she decides to do it again. At the same time, she is a Desdemona in the sense that she seems by the end to sincerely love a man who does her harm. It is these paradoxes that make the play of the film, like a tennis game, interesting. 

Catholic Take:

The idea that luck is important in one's life does not really work with a Catholic view of the world. God's will does not really allow for luck. As Saint Paul says, "All things work for the good;" thus, even what we call unlucky in our lives is meant to help us. That said, we often do assume that people like Chris, who seem to have everything, deserve the things they have. Woody Allen is right that many of our celebrities got where they were through immoral means--maybe not as immoral as in his movies though! Also, the talent we sometimes envy in people is just a gift that God, not fortune, has given them. Finally, and maybe most importantly of all, the movie reminds us of that very ancient idea that those who have everything may still not sleep well. A powerful illustration of this is "the Sword of Damocles." This story from ancient times is meant to show that all who hold power and especially those who have taken it by force sleep with a sword hanging over their heads. Thus, from the story, we see that having possessions does not lead to happiness alone. We need more than the things in life that make us lucky.

Woody Allen is an avowed atheist and would just see this life as final. He might counter this ancient story by saying that there's always a good sleeping pill or drug, but we know that, ultimately, no one really gets away with murder. There is justice and part of that justice starts on this earth even in an uncomfortable conscience or constant fear. 

This post is getting long but I'll just explore one more facet of the luck question. Chris sees himself as falling into bad luck when Nola announces that she is pregnant. Yet, as I think is so often the case in life, his "bad luck" is actually a consequence of bad actions. Chris does not seem to really acknowledge that his passion is a choice. Even after the fact, he may feel guilty and call it lust, but he does not seem to question it. To me, this is a very modern notion of passion as almost something that is either good or bad luck for us--not so much a choice.

All these words later, the question of luck and how much we can really be happy without the things that make us comfortable--a good job, health, and friends, for example--seems debatable and hard to deny even if we talk about different types of happiness. You have to be pretty philosophical to say that you can be perfectly happy without these things. Would Chris have been happier for telling the truth? I think so, but the sinful side of me still understands his desire not to lose what he had.

Questions: How much do you think happiness in life depends on being lucky? What did you think of the