Movie review, part deux: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

by Alex Bentley

Writer/director Woody Allen has made yet another movie with his apparent new muse, Scarlett Johansson (Match Point, Scoop), and he seems to have finally come up with a concept that fits her personality and, um, assets.

In Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Johansson plays one of the titular characters, Cristina, who, along with her college friend, Vicky (Rebecca Hall), decides to spend the summer in Barcelona. Vicky and Cristina, despite being around the same age, are at different points in their lives: Vicky is in the midst of post-graduate studies and is engaged to be married, while Cristina is still an undergrad and has recently broken up with a boyfriend.

Soon after arriving in Spain, Cristina jumps at the opportunity to spend a weekend with artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), dragging a reluctant Vicky along with her. What ensues is more like the Woody of old, a no-plot-necessary ride that finds both Vicky and Cristina pining for Juan Antonio in vastly different ways. In Cristina’s case, it leads her into a tempestuous situation with Juan Antonio and his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). In Vicky’s case, her supposedly-inexplicable attraction to Juan Antonio causes her to question her engagement to her fiancé, Doug (Chris Messina). Like so many of Allen’s films, Barcelona is an exploration of the meaning of love and attraction and how those things intertwine (or not).

Johansson fits the free spirit role of Cristina well, imbuing the character with just the right touch of lightness or sincerity when necessary. Hall previously had a role in The Prestige (which coincidentally co-starred Johansson), but this is truly her breakout performance. She gives just a hint of the classic Woody Allen female (think Diane Keaton), stumbling over her words when it suits the situation. But her feelings for Juan Antonio become the driving force behind the film, coloring every new event, even when it doesn’t directly involve her.

Bardem and Cruz also help give the film a quality that may be completely new to Woody Allen: worldliness (can’t claim this for a fact as I’m not a complete Allen expert). Allen reportedly let both Bardem and Cruz lapse into Spanish whenever they felt like, lending their scenes a good deal of authenticity. Bardem proves himself one of the best actors working today, moving smoothly from pure evil in No Country for Old Men to pure suaveness here. Cruz’s character is three shades of crazy, a trait that appears to fit Cruz well, as her various tantrums are some of the most believable scenes in the film.

There may be no specific plot or resolution in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but it contains some undeniable (and sometimes uncomfortable) truths about love, sex, and relationships. Woody, please make more of these types of films and less Scoops.