Susan Granger’s review of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (MGM/Weinstein Co.)
While London made Woody Allen edgy with suspense in “Match Point,” “Scoop” and “Cassandra’s Dream,” Spain returns him to his romantic comedy roots.
Best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are American tourists spending the summer in Barcelona. Shortly after their arrival, they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a painter who brazenly invites them for a weekend in the picturesque town of Oviedo. Engaged to be married and assertively conventional, patrician Vicky quickly declines, but adventurous Cristina is obviously turned on by the suave, disconcertingly straight-forward Spaniard. So Vicky reluctantly agrees to accompany them. But when Cristina gets food poisoning, it’s Vicky who succumbs to Juan Antonio’s seductive charms.
Back in Barcelona, guilt-stricken Vicky agrees to marry her fiancé (Doug Messina) earlier than planned while Juan Antonio persistently pursues Cristina, who moves in with him, only to discover that his passionately volatile ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), is determined to make it a ménage a trios. So it’s all about how restless Cristina and stability-seeking Vicky navigate the tense, unsettling and often bizarre emotional boundaries set by their amorous desires and bohemian expectations.
Throughout his cinematic career, Woody Allen has relished complicated emotional relationships and he embraces with exuberance the sensual essence of the Catalan capital, albeit through an omniscient third-person narrator. In contrast to his terse performance in “No Country for Old Men,” Bardem oozes debonair charm, yet it’s Cruz (“Volver”) who steals scenes. Scarlett Johansson has become Allen’s mercurial muse du jour and newcomer Rebecca Hall (daughter of British theater director Peter Hall) is enchanting.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” is a sublimely delectable 9. It’s a witty, cleverly crafted meditation on love – in all of its many fascinating permutations.
