Vicky Cristina Barcelona DVD

Peter Wild finds this sunny, escapist delight is a real return to form for Allen.

We are glad to report that Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody’s sunny, escapist Spanish delight, is that much talked-of and much hoped-for ‘return to form’. Even the most ardent Woody Allen fan has had to admit, in recent years, that there were, in fact, such things as ‘lesser’ Woody Allen films. Although opinion was fairly positive for his first London outing, Match Point, a sort of Hitchcock-esque tennis drama populated by the landed gentry, two subsequent outings – Scoop and, particularly, Cassandra’s Dream – saw Allen gather the worst reviews of his career so far.

With its title – Vicky Cristina Barcelona – initially wrongfooting you by leading you to believe that there will be an eponymous central character, the film then introduces bright but cautious Vicky (played by Rebecca Hall, latterly of Frost/Nixon and Red Riding) and sexually adventurous Cristina (played by Woody’s latest muse, Scarlett Johansson), two girlfriends holidaying in Barcelona. Approached over an intimate meal by Javier Bardem’s swarthy and vivacious painter, Juan Antonio, and invited away for the weekend, Vicky and Cristina enter into a playful dosey-do that sees each of them dally with the charismatic painter.

So far, so Woody Allen you might say. Where the film really comes into its own, however, is in the introduction of Juan Antonio’s tempestuous ex, Maria Elena, a performance that bagged Penélope Cruz a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The fireworks generated by the pairing of Bardem and Cruz transports the film firmly into Almodóvar territory – albeit Almodóvar by way of Eric Rohmer – and it’s all the better for it. Of course the scenery is breathtaking (the architecture and the cuisine are as much a character as the girls themselves), of course the girls find themselves awe-struck by the culture and of course there is a Woody-type character (in the main played by Vicky but ably supported by Christopher Evan Welch’s narration); all taken together, this makes for a fine Woody Allen film indeed.

Peter Wild on 29th May 2009
Author of 99 reviews