Vicky Christina Barcelona

When Woody Allen is on his game, he can make a deeply satisfying movie. When he isn't on his game, watching his work is excruciatingly painful. It was deeply satisfying to watch Vicky Christina Barcelona. It is perhaps not a complete masterpiece but it is one of his better films in some time. Its well acted, well constructed and searches deeply to the answer of some interesting questions about love and companionship.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is logical, reserved, happily engaged and seeking to finish a thesis on Catalan Identity in Barcelona. Christina (Scarlett Johansson) is irrational, free spirited, single and seeking art and semi hedonism as she accompanies Vicky. As the two explore Barcelona they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) a passionate painter who speaks directly and has a good share of emotional issues relating to his life and ex-wife. The three have a complicated relationship throughout the film. Vicky is torn between the comfort of her boring fiance and the excitement of the wild Juan Antonio. Christina sense a similarity of spirit in Juan Antonio. He sees compatibility in Christina but something intriguing in Vicky.

In the mix is Juan Antonio's ex Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). Maria Elena is a fireball of emotion with a love and conflict with Juan Antonio. The film revolves around these people as it tries to find a particular form of love and companionship. Their actions feel real and unforced. There are moments of pain and joy and it all is very effective. It is all set to the backdrop of the beautiful Barcelona. Allen uses a narrator for much of the film and I am typically angered by voice over but here it has purpose. He advances the story through the mundane details and we therefore experience a summer and life in interesting vignettes.

There are excellent performances by the leads here. Bardem's Spanish lover is nuanced enough that he is not just a stereotype and while you will get no overtones of his rule following sociopath of last year's No Country For Old Men you can see he is in fact an excellent actor. Penelope Cruz is wonderful doing well in both Spanish and English as the fiery passion and art inspiring whirlwind. Woody Allen has a talent for finding roles that are perfect for the somewhat limited ability of Scarlett Johansson. Rebecca Hall just is utterly charming to watch. Her uncertainty mixed with her unrestrained moments are just so much fun. She's beautiful and smart and I confess to having a crush on her very early in the film as she tries to rationalize away her own feelings.

And kudos to Allen for doing what so few in film are willing to do. Sometimes things don't turn out well in the end. Sometimes we don't learn from our mistakes or we don't reach a new understanding. Sometimes we end up right back where we started and we have to start all over in hopes of finding the answer. The end of this film was so great for me. It felt right and natural and yes a little depressing but perfect.