Match Point is a movie which was directed by Woody Allen in 2004. It was shot in London. This movie tells the story of Chris, a man looking for a new life. Throughout the movie he seems to find it. As a coach in a private tennis club, he becomes friend with Tom Hewett before going out with his sister, Chloe. Rapidly he became integrated in their family, a wealthy British one, and obtains a high-powered job in the City. But his attraction towards Nola, Tom's ex-fiancée, is uncontrollable. When she asks him to leave his wife, Chloe, he finds himself in an awkward situation especially when Nola, and then Chloe, tell him they are pregnant. He uses desperate means to keep Nola quiet. In the context of this movie, I am going to study the following subject: “Ambivalent London”. In order to understand the subject properly let's start off by defining the term “ambivalence”: we say about someone that he is ambivalent if he does not know or does not make it clear whether he wants or does not want something, or whether he approves of it or does not approve of it.
[...] The ambivalence of London Match Point is the first movie Woody Allen has directed in London. And he serves as an unofficial tourist guide of the city. He accesses to a wide range of wonderful locations, such as Royal Opera House, Queen's Tennis Club, Tate Modern, Ealing Studios, Palace Theatre, Covent Garden Hotel. He also shot extensively on the streets of London: Chelsea, Covent Garden, and Nothing Hill. The Londoner aristocracy London brings a social dimension to Woody Allen movies. [...]
[...] With Chloe, he plays the role of patient instructor who holds back from unleashing his full prowess. Conversely, he enters quickly into the game with Nola. He even crosses the table to show her the correct follow-through with the racket. Nola comments that he plays a "very aggressive game" and he responds she has "very sensual lips". These interplays are the metaphors of their future relations. At last, there is the ambivalence about the fact he both creates and destroys his family and the people who are closed to him. [...]
[...] And he shirks responsibilities. That leads us to Ambivalence: does he want to grow up or to remain a child? His social ascension may show the image of a blooming man, but it also evocates the fulfillment of a child's dream: becoming rich. With Nola, he acts as a child: he jeopardizes his couple, seems unable to take responsibility for his acts and to make a choice between his wife and his lover. When Chloe talks to him for the first time about the possibility for him to work in her father's company he appears to be afraid. [...]
[...] He even sees the ghosts of his victims. If he were a believer, he should not feel remorse since he was saved by chance. He is chosen by God. If he were atheistic, he should not feel remorse either because Chris, who reads Dostoevsky, is in good position to know "If God does not exist, so everything is allowed". So if he feels remorse, it is because he feels guilty himself, and so because he must have acted against his feelings and his convictions. [...]
[...] He insists a lot on going to the cinema with Tom and Nola (to see Carnets de voyages de Walter Salles), and is very disappointed when he sees Tom getting off the taxi by himself. When he looks at her at the ranch, or at the paintings exposition, he looks like a child in front of the gift of his dreams; he is almost marveled at her. He moves deeply when he meets her at the exposition. It is clear there is passion between them. [...]
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