Vicky Christina Barcelona is a movie that had a lot of pre-release buzz surrounding the lesbian make-out scene between Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz. Anybody who went to the see the movie hoping to see a passionate, sensual scene starring two of our most most beautiful celebrities (the same hope that brought many of us to the theater for the otherwise lackluster Black Dahlia) were probably disappointed. Johansson is a good actress, and she displays a lot of emotions really well, but I've never scene her convey passion well on-screen. She's great at love, longing, even lust, but when it comes to passion, it rarely surfaces (with the exception of the rain scene in Match Point). I don't think it makes her a bad casting choice here, for reasons that I'll revisit in a little while.
Vicky Christina Barcelona is a movie about threesomes, sort of. From the title on, the movie revolves around several proposed or realized threesomes, but this is no Wild Things. All the threesome activity unfortunately happens off-screen, despite the fact that they've got an ideal configuration for a visually appealing threesome. Curvaceous blonde with pale skin and a darker-skinned, more athletic brunette makes for a great-looking threesome. I understand the stars might not want to be involved, but I wouldn't complain about reasonable body doubles. But, whatever, I'm obviously not a well-respected director like Woody Allen, and I guess he knows what he's doing.
So, without the possibility of hot bedroom action, what're we left with? Quite a lot, actually, and this turns out to be a really good movie. First, it's a movie about love, attraction, and what draws us to and repels us from the people we care about. It's crucial to this theme that the characters in the movie be attractive enough to convince us that people love them despite their flaws. Thus, it's crucial that Christina (Johansson) have a charming smile and a rocking body that looks great in the casual American styles she wears as well as an honest and sincere persona that lets us excuse her fickle immaturity. Maria Elena (Cruz) needs to be even more appealing because of her violence, anger, and self-destructiveness. And Cruz pulls it off wonderfully. From her dishevelled hair to her smoky eyes that simultaneously show pain and spit fire to her sensual body to her beautifully inflected Spanish, we can't help but love her.
And let's not forget Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who has to be great from the very beginning when he walks up to our heroines Vicky & Christina and proposes that they fly with him to a tiny Spanish town for a threesome. He's wonderfully costumed in soft sensual fabrics and portrays his character with such casual charm that I would've considered hopping on that flight.
But Vicky Christina Barcelona is not just about threesomes. To some extent threesomes stand in for any life experience that is outside of the norm, and how different characters respond to threesomes stands in for the whole of how they approach new experiences. Christina, of course, is immediately engrossed in the idea of the novel experience, but eventually bores and must move on. Vicky, on the other hand, is initially repulsed. But later she grows curious and explores the option, only to learn that she is just not prepared for the scary danger of stepping outside her comfortable life.
This is a great movie. In my opinion, it's one of Allen's best. A joy to watch, with an impact that endures. Anybody who hasn't seen it should definitely do so.
2 comments:
Yes, definitely one of the Woodman's best recent efforts (even despite the sad lack of hot S-Jo threesomes).
Too bad he had to follow it up with the roundly mediocre Whatever Works.
Perhaps he should have remained abroad.
Man, I had been hoping to stumble upon this movie late at night, thrilled to be watching a "film" with a great threesome, rather than smut with a threesome...vicarious thrills and intellectual stimulation...but perhaps I'll still go with the intellectual stuff.
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