I have not seen a Woody Allen movie for a very long time. In fact I do not even remember the last one. Watching "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" brought it all back -- the incisive and thought-provoking ideas elucidated in the very smart dialogue. Vintage Woody, back to form. Nobody can write with so much neuroses in its varied forms like Woody Allen. You can hear Woody through all the actors pronouncements!
That said, I think the screenplay, while very witty, also had its flaws in its very unexpected plot turns. First, who was the Narrator? He surely helped the story along, but who was he in the first place? However, my main qualm was the way the problem of Vicky got resolved which I found contrived. I did not like it. It seems to be the easy way out.
I'm sure all the men in the audience would agree what a lucky guy Javier Bardem is, sharing the screen bed with three gorgeous women -- Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz. He plays the smouldering Latin lover here, miles away from his Oscar-winning cold killer role last year. No real effort for Bardem in this one, he seems to be just very relaxed and enjoying his fantasy role as the woman-magnet Juan Antonio.
Scarlett Johansson is very natural and carefree as the free-spirited Cristina. Her character makes a key yet sudden decision midway in the film that upsets the status quo. This is another one of my problems with the script. She has certainly come a long way from the girl in "Horse Whisperer." My favorite Scarlett role remains to be Griet in " Girl with a Pearl Earring."
Rebecca Hall looks and acts very different from her confident character in "Frost/Nixon," playing the mousy and conflicted bride Vicky. As the more conservative and rigid character, she had to convey her thoughts and emotions in less words and less body language. Yet she still succeeds to get her character's conflicts across to us.
However, it is Penelope Cruz's character Maria Elena who is far and away the most showy role and she goes to town with it. I did not like the way the character was written, but Ms. Cruz did very well in it, if not a little overdone. She has already won the BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress. Hers is the only nomination earned by "VCB" in the upcoming Oscars, and is quite favored to win. MIra Sorvino ("Mighty Aprhodite") and Dianne Wiest ("Hannah and her Sisters" and "Bullets Over Broadway") both won their Supporting Actress Oscars in Woody Allen movies. And Ms. Cruz could most likely be next in line.
I should mention one more actress, Patricia Clarkson. She has a short role, yet influential in the development of Vicky's character. Ms. Clarkson does very well in her few minutes on screen.
Overall though, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is not entirely a Valentine sort of romantic movie. I'm not really sure why this was nominated (and won) for Best Musical/Comedy in the Golden Globes. While the cinematography, set design, music and the Barcelona location are all fantastic, the topics tackled are quite serious and controversial, especially for our conservative Asian sensitivities. This is not the typical romantic comedy, no real laugh out loud moments. The script provides difficult questions that challenges the audience to think and discuss afterward.
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