Woody Allen’s sizzling Euro-romp
The film’s title suggests an American girls go wild in Europe, with plenty of romantic-comedy trimmings, however, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is actually director Woody Allen’s intriguing comedy/drama about two friends vacationing in Spain, who fall into a complex relationship with a local artist (and his volatile ex-wife).
The two leads are played by Rebecca Hall and Scarlet Johansson respectively, whilst Javier Bardem (in a distinctly different role to No Country For Old Men) plays the bohemian Spanish artist Juan, whose predilection for casual sex sees him in stark contrast to our American girls. Penelope Cruz, in an outstanding performance, plays Juan’s ex Maria Elena.
Vicky is a well organised scholar, using the summer to study in Spain, whilst engaged to her successful fiancé back in the U.S. Her structured life soon comes into question though, after a romantic dalliance with Juan. Meanwhile, Cristina, looking for some direction in life, falls quickly under Juan’s charms and seeks to becomes his lover, only to find herself caught in between Juan and Maria Elena’s electric arguments.
Picturesque and sexy, Allen delivers a stylishly artistic movie, with some great moments of comedy and romance. The performances are all decent, and Cruz is phenomenal as we see her mixing Spanish and English dialogue with immense pace, and the cast work well as an ensemble. Where the film falls down, however, is the sheer lack of point. By the end, nothing is solved, no issues have been explored, and the problems we see at the beginning are still painfully obvious by the end.
Alongside this, Allen’s choice to use a narrator, in the form of a flowery script read by Christopher Evan Welch, detracts from the film’s flow, pointing out the obvious twists and turns in the characters’ development with an irritating effect.
Worth watching for its sizzling heat and strong female leads (oh and there is the possibility of a threesome), but be warned the film will not offer you any life guidance, unless you are planning on becoming a sex-crazed Euro-artist.
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