Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) Reviews

• A triumphant effort from Woody Allen

  ametaphysicalshark2008-08-15

  Although this film has bizarrely been described as breezy summer entertainment by some top critics (which leads me to wonder if they saw the same movie I did, or just the first half hour), "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is the closest thing to the sort of examination of relationships that Allen became famous for in quite some time ("Anything Else" counts, I suppose, but lacks the sharpness this film has), and although it is far from as weighty as some of his dramas or even some of his comedies, this is his first really inspired script in a while, featuring a cast of detailed, well-developed characters, some razor-sharp observations on relationships, and a wicked sense of humor. Although I never thought Woody's work this decade was particularly poor (other than "Cassandra's Dream" and although I'm in a minority "Match Point"), it has mostly been completely inconsequential and almost entirely dependent on broad characterizations and heavy plotting rather than real people and awkwardly comic situations (which has always been Allen's strong suit). A career-best performance from Scarlett Johansson, a wickedly entertaining turn from Penelope Cruz, and the absolute revelation that is Rebecca Hall form a great cast along with Javier Bardem in a role that may surprise the majority of the American public (well, for most of the movie, anyway). You can feel Allen's mark on their mannerisms, but they all seem to disappear into these characters, that's how good they are. I'm keeping this as spoiler-free as possible, because it's really worth going into the theater not expecting anything in particular and savoring the film's often unexpected but never contrived plot twists and turns. All you should know is that Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) go to Barcelona for the summer and things get complicated when they meet a charming, mysterious, and rich painter (Javier Bardem) and he makes a rather upfront proposition to both of them. It's best if you know nothing of how Cruz' character impacts the film prior to watching it. In relation to Allen's other work I thought it was interesting that he never attempted to analyze sex. The whole movie is in many ways about sex, and there is a lot of the expected philosophical and psychological examination of the relationships between the characters in the film, but sex itself is never analyzed as it is in much of Allen's work, and is instead treated as the impenetrable mystery it is. That said, Allen's script is extraordinarily nuanced, something that I haven't expected from his writing in a while. Sure, the characters still represent opposing romantic philosophies, but there's a spark in the writing that makes these feel like real people as opposed to mere characters. That spark, that chemistry is there throughout "Vicky Cristina Barcelona", it's there in the vibrant cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe, it's there in the performances, it's there in the shot composition, and it's there in the editing, and in pretty much anything else I haven't mentioned yet. The first forty minutes or so of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" may be the sort of romantic comedy (very good romantic comedy, at that) that the advertising campaign seems to suggest it is, but for the rest of the film there's the sort of pessimistic optimism that colors much of Allen's work (if that makes sense, pretend you didn't read it if it didn't), and let's just say it doesn't end well for these characters. There's real complexity and intensity in this film, and all I have to say is this: Woody Allen is back, the perceptive, intelligent examiner of the human heart, that is, not what we've had for the past while. To say this is one of his best films would be ignoring the fact that through the 70's and 80's he pretty much made nothing but great films, but I can at least say that this is on par with some of his better work. 8.5/10

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• "I'm famous for my intolerance."

  WriterDave2008-08-21

  Vicky (a neurotic and sexy Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (a neurotic and gorgeous Scarlett Johansson) are two American tourists in Spain examining their differing views on love in Woody Allen's breezy and alluring "Vicky Cristina Barcelona". Amidst a tempestuous summer in Barcelona, the ladies are both seduced by a free-thinking painter (a perfect Javier Bardem) whose own life is complicated by his still passionate relationship with his ex-wife (a devastating Penelope Cruz, who has never looked more beautiful). Much like the change from New York City to London invigorated Allen in "Match Point", this vacation to Spain has revived some of the director's more artistic aspirations. The scenery is postcard perfect but drenched in that same dizzying lushness that made Allen's view of NYC so intoxicating in "Manhattan". The churches, the homes, the art museums, the countryside, the intimate city streets and touristy details make you feel like you are visiting Barcelona along with Allen and his cast. There's also sharpness to the trademark Woody dialog that has been missing for quite some time. Like all of Allen films, this one is endlessly talky, but there's some great subversion when certain lines that seem like throw-aways actually pack a punch when given a second thought. When Bardem first attempts to talk Johansson's character into bed, he says something clichéd about her being hard to please. Quick witted, Johansson replies, "I'm famous for my intolerance." She says it casually, but it packs a bite as it's the complete antithesis of her character's outward desire to be someone who rallies against cultural norms, and she presents herself as someone who is easy-going and tolerant of all. Allen also displays a keen sense of pacing when he creates tension in his build up to Cruz's appearance after her character is endlessly talked about but never seen until about half way through the film. When Cruz finally arrives, her moody whirling dervish of a performance is the perfect spice to liven up the soupy proceedings. Her seething, fiery line readings combined with looks that could kill make her the front-runner for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. The baseline archetypal characters are essentially clichéd, but the way in which Allen handles all of their interpersonal relationships is fairly sophisticated and entertaining even when it grows absurd. There is of course that kiss between Scarlett and Penelope but also some moments of Lynchian-lite when Allen photographs the brunette Hall and blonde Johansson similarly to make them seem like they are two sides of the same woman. There's even more weirdness when die-hard Woody fans realize that in some perverse way Scarlett Johansson's character is the "Woody" part--as in any film he does not star, there is always one character who represents the part he would've played had he been in it. However, film buffs will enjoy some of the nice touches like when Hall and another go to see Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt" (one of my all time favorite films) or the repetitive use of a Spanish guitar in the soundtrack whenever Bardem and Hall get together. But then there's the mostly unnecessary voice-over narration that fills in expository gaps and shows Allen can still be a lazy tactician. Woody Allen has always been an acquired taste, even more so in his latter years when he sometimes forgets how to provoke, but his fans should be delighted with this latest European flavored effort. In the end, you'll feel like Javier Bardem is the luckiest man in the world, Penelope Cruz is operating at the echelon of her appeal, and Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson, well, they'll always have Barcelona.

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• If you "don't get" Woody Allen, this movie won't help.

  greenbeavervideo2009-06-30

  There were three things that bothered me about this movie. 1) Woody Allen, whose controversial relationships are well-documented, has created a movie promoting a judgment free world where people should do as they please with their relationships. Nothing wrong with that, but why does he need to put down conventional lives and relationships in order to do so? He mocks conventional life styles as mundane and torturous. Two male characters are negatively portrayed because of their huge sin: being boring (gasp!). You would think that a man whose movies are found to be boring by 95% of the population would be sensitive towards that label. 2) The writing when it comes to the characters. They all talk the same, use the same vocabulary, and posses the same wit. Maybe for New York intellectuals who only hang around each other that might be the case, but for the rest of the world, that's not the case and it makes for a rather unrealistic movie. Take the character of Juan Antonio as an example. When he introduces himself, he struggles with his English and fumbles for the right words, then two sentences later, he uses the word "subterfuge". What foreigner do you know who struggles with the English language and who also use that word? What native English speakers do you known who uses that word? Again, this is because all the characters are written to speak the same. 3) The story. At the end of the movie, all of the characters are exactly at the same place they were at the beginning of the movie. You could argue that Vicki's character views her life differently, but yet she's still following the same actions she did at the beginning. In essence, you just wasted your time watching this movie, for all of the weaving the story tries to do, in the end, you are back to where you started. The cinematography was nice, but outside of that, not a good movie.

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• Woody Allen Goes on Vacation

  NRiviera2011-02-18

  Vicky Christina Barcelona may be the laziest movie I have ever seen. Not necessarily the worst movie ever, but I don't think I have ever seen so many talented people put in so little effort (with the exception of Penelope Cruz). I mean, I fully understand why Woody Allen would want to spend several weeks in Barcelona with three beautiful women, but I don't know why he bothered to put film in the camera and call it a movie. The central hope of the movie is that constant references to Gaudi, Miro, and how Vicky is getting her masters in Catalan identity (BTW, if you Google "masters in Catalan identity" EVERY result is about this movie, which tells you how bogus that is) will distract you from the fact that this movie basically recycles the two most tired clichés of late-nineties soft-core porn: Sexually conservative woman meets a tall, dark stranger who makes her question her life AND sexually adventuresome woman meets a tall, dark stranger who helps her experience increasingly exotic thrills including (gasp!) lesbianism. Strangely these two plots never really intersect, which is particularly odd since the tall, dark stranger is the same for both of them. Other than the pretty Tourist Board shots of Barcelona, the main dramatic thrust of the movie is how Vicky thought she had her life planned out, but a tryst with the exotic Spaniard has made her question everything. How do we know this? Because Vicky actually says things like "I thought I had my life planned out, but…" And not just once, but she says it to the Spaniard, she says it to Patricia Clarkson, and she says it to a classmate from her language class, who is introduced for the sole purpose of giving Vicky one more person that she can tell. Oh, and in case you still missed it, there is a ludicrously intrusive narrator who explains it all to you again and again. Why is Vicky suddenly dissatisfied with her entire existence after one quick roll in the grass with the Spaniard? No real reason is ever given, other than that the rule of the cliché is that intelligent American women are all sexually repressed with boorish husbands. I'm sure that the stilted dialog is meant to make it feel "theatrical" and the oppressively obvious and distracting narrator is meant to be ironic (like the Greek Chorus in Mighty Aphrodite), but without any real plot, characters, or motivations, it just adds to the sensation that you're trapped for ninety minutes while someone tells you about a mediocre movie they once saw.

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• embarrassingly bad

  jrwygant2009-10-04

  "Vicky Christina Barcelona" will be praised by the few remaining Woody Allen fans and condemned by the rest of us, whose model for drama is derived from classic Greek theater. The demands for statement of circumstance, a crescendo of conflict rising to a crisis, a resolution of the crisis, and a brief concluding summary are missing from VCB. The convention of character change -- Othello changing into a wife murderer, Hamlet deteriorating into madness, Scout's discovery of important life values in "To Kill a Mockingbird" -- is also missing. The usual expectation that minor characters are introduced into a story if they have some purpose, is ignored. And of course, the common convention of a plot, as opposed to a vignette, is nowhere on the horizon. The extensive use of anonymous voice-over narration does not salvage this wreck and only leaves the audience annoyed and patronized. It is worth speculating that if someone else had proposed to make this same movie, someone previously unknown, it never would have gotten financed. Vicky and Christina are not believable from their first introduction. That the stiff and conservative Vicky would have traveled to a foreign country with the impulsive and directionless Christina to spend two months together is inconceivable. Given that the initial premise fails, the rest is an embarrassing exploration of an old man's fantasy about two young women. At one point Vicky meets a young man in a language class, another possible diversion for her. Although he seems dramatically interesting, he disappears after his one brief scene. His exchange with Vicky adds nothing to her self-awareness or any other aspect of the movie. The scene could have been cut entirely with no consequence except elimination of any expectation in the audience that the young man might have some purpose in the film. When the endless display of self-descriptions by each of the characters becomes tiresome to all, including the characters, we experience a classic "deus ex machina." Maria Elena is dropped into the little that remains and fires off a few sobering rounds. The movie ends pretty much where it began. Vicky is the same Vicky, conservative, now married, willing to make the same compromises she has always made. Christina is still floundering around trying to discover herself. Whose movie was this? Was it Vicky's or Christina's? In the end neither of them holds our interest.

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