Presence

Just finished watching Match Point, a Woody Allen film. The movie takes the form of a quasi-operatic tragedy with a modern twist; traditionally, the main character in a tragedy suffers a downfall which is "downfall is brought about by either a character flaw or a conflict with some higher power such as the law, the gods, fate, or society." In contrast, the film opens with the following statement from the main character;

The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck. It's scary to think so much is out of one's control. There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net and for a split second it can either go forward or fall back. With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn't and you lose.

What follows is begins as a somewhat interesting romance, progresses into a frantic drama, and ends as a thriller with a satisfying twist at the end. There's some slow parts in the middle, but I thought the end was worth the wait. I'd wanted to see this film for a while, I'm just lucky we rented it.