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Woody Back In Groove With ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’
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If you thought Woody Allen peaked with neurotic, romantic comedies like ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘Manhattan,’ you’ll be pleasantly surprised by ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona.’ The setting is more exotic, the passions more fiery, less intellectual. But this is solidly classic Woody Allen.
Rather than give away too much, I’ll just cover the broad strokes. There are two best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson). A summer in Barcelona. One fiancé (Chris Messina). One rakish artist (Javier Bardem). And one crazy long-lost wife (Penelope Cruz). Allen mixes and matches them in several possible romantic combinations -- not always two at a time.
The film’s one unusual element, considering Allen’s body of work, is its passion. The sexual tension is heavy, and although the love scenes contain no nudity, they are pretty darned hot. A testament to the talented group of actors he has assembled.
Bardem and Cruz generate the most heat. Their scenes are by far the funniest of any Allen film in a long time. He is to be commended also for going beyond what could have been a mundane sexual farce into an exploration of inhibition, convention, and what happens when we’re freed of them. Or think we are anyway.
In that sense, his use of Barcelona itself as a character in the film works beautifully. It seems a place out of time, a Shangri-La with its own rules -- or lack of them.
This idea of city as character also harks back to those classic Woody Allen neuromantic comedies. The city may be different. The characters may be different. But the wit, the humor, and the artistry are the same.
