Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky Christina Barcelona isn't quite the work of genius that several critics are making it out to be, but it is Woody Allen's most solid film in nearly a decade and by far his sexiest.

I will admit that the claims that it's his best movie in 20 years may have raised my expectations unfairly. After all, the past two decades has brought us Sweet and Lowdown (inspired Sean Penn and Samantha Morton), Another Woman (inspired Gena Rowlands), Husbands and Wives (inspired Judy Davis), Bullets Over Broadway ("Don't Speak!") and what, in my humble opinion, is his most extraordinary film ever: Crimes and Misdemeanors.

That said, there is much in the film's Plus Column. Bardem has never been sexier in English. Rebecca Hall is a sublime revelation. Scarlett Johansson does her most consistent and least grating work since Girl With the Pearl Earring. The supporting cast is a treasure trove of great character actors: Kevin Dunn (usually but effectively charmless), Chris Messina (a complicated mix of sexy and dull), Pablo Schreiber (virtually a cameo), and Patricia Clarkson (earthy, tragic and terrific as always).

And then there's Penelope Cruz. Incapable of wrong-doing in my eyes since All About My Mother, she is everything you've heard she is. At first, the character appears to be another version of Rahda Mitchell's bad Melinda only dark and Spanish. But she evolves and blossoms, like a mushroom cloud in slow motion.

The story is simple and the structure is a bit unwieldy. As a result, the film feels longer than it is and while it does saunter, it's never boring. The screenplay seems more concerned with re-arranging the configurations of lovers and exploring its themes than it does with sustaining the dramatic tension.

The films only significant, though ultimately not fatal, flaw is Miss Johansson. For the legions who thought Javier Bardem could generate romantic and sexual chemistry with anyone or anything, well, I have bad news. When she is sharing the screen with both Bardem and Cruz, Johansson's limitations as an actor and as a screen presence.

Ultimately, though, Vicky Christina Barcelona is still a worthwhile endeavor. An enjoyable romp filled the requisite angst and passion of Woody Allen's better efforts. Best of all, there's Spain and Barcelona. The landscapes, people and architecture provide even more spectacular real estate porn than Melinda & Melinda. Not only does it make you want to go to Barcelona, it will make you feel like you've lived there and loved it.

Despite its unevenness,

Adventurous Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) and her cultured reserved friend Vicky (Rebecca Hall) go vacationing in Barcelona. They get approached by the over confident Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). Juan immediately propositions them. Cristina is interested, but Vicky is incensed over his presumptuousness. As the two girls travel with him, their trio is turned into chaos by the wild Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz).

Woody Allen has created one of his most fascinating films outside of New York. There is only one problem; The Voice Overs. It doesn't stop. It drowns out the film. I don't even know why Woody thought it's a good idea to constantly unceasingly drone on and on and on. And is there anybody less interesting doing narrations? It sucks out the passion in the film.

Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson were good at their particular roles. Javier Bardem is extremely fascinating and seemingly so realistic getting beautiful women with his confidence. But Penélope Cruz blows everybody away.

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.

Barcelona is recognizable enough and exotic enough to frame the latest complication from Woody Allen. Allen himself claims to care very little about films. He doesn't consider them the center of his life. Strange, because I do, Woody Allen without his films is...well I don't know who or what he is. Here he ventures again outside New York in a shape and form that reminded me a little bit of Jacques Rivette. Scarlet Johansson and Rebecca Hall, as the blond and the brunette of the title, make a great pair of opposites or seemingly so. Javier Bardem is the artist that comes to ruffle their world and the spectacular Penelope Cruz (getting better and better with every movie) is the hysterical side of the artist's past. We spend a great deal of time sitting at tables eating and drinking while a voice over guide us through their physical and emotional journey. I was delighted, entertained ever aroused. Woody Allen keeps surprising and he's got it whether he cares about it or not.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is the story of a four people struggling to understand what love is or what the feelings they have mean. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) are Americans spending a summer in Barcelona. They meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem) a painter who embodies the concept of European free love. They fall into an unusual love triangle, complicated by Vicky's engagement. It gets even more complicated when Juan Antonio's crazy ex-wife Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) is thrown into the mix.

What makes Vicky Cristina Barcelona different from most love triangle movies, is that there is no animosity between the characters. They are not in competition with each other, they are merely trying to find themselves. Everyone gives a great performance, particularly Rebecca Hall and Penelope Cruz. Woody Allen is working in his element here are makes a few choices that are unorthodox, but effective. Most notable is his use of a narrator throughout in the manner that was common in the 40s and 50s. The narrator relays plot points that could be conveyed in a quick scene, but rather that interrupt the flow, they are narrated in transitions.