Woody Allen completes his London trilogy with this family saga in which Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell play brothers. But perhaps “social-climbing/murder” trilogy would better describe what the films have in common. Farrell is the gambler whose early run of luck propels the story’s beginning, but McGregor is the player, hoping to trade his working-class girlfriend and job, working in his dad’s restaurant, in for a sultry actress (Hayley Atwell) and a hotel investment in California.
Like Match Point, Cassandra’s Dream is a straight thriller rather than a comedy, and the director does not appear on screen. In fact, there are no American characters. Atwell’s well-cast as the female lead but has less to do than Scarlett Johannson in either Match Point or Scoop. Likewise Tom Wilkinson as the wealthy uncle whose generosity helps sustain the family’s finances but also sparks resentment and greed, and turns out to have strings.
The class and family issues could have sustained even more of the drama had Allen chosen to tell that tale. As it is, the success of the movie must rest with how the plot goes. In the superior Match Point, a coincidence is used to show how chance can alter fate. Here, a coincidence seems to be used because Allen didn’t have a better ending. Mind, the average Hollywood thriller has half a dozen bits that are more ridiculous than anything here. But the realistic story Allen is trying to tell comes off as slightly forced, making this less-essential Woody.
IMDB link
viewed and reviewed 1/30/08
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