The intricacies of romance

I was never much of a Woody Allen fan and was certainly not impressed with his works in the last decade or so. But Zelig will always be one of my most favorite comedies and to this day I still laugh my head off recalling the line about how the family of the lead character Leonard Zelig (Allen) made so much noise, “the bowling alley above their home complained.”

When his latest work, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, won Best Picture in a Comedy or Musical in the last Gold Globe Awards, I got excited and expected another Woody Allen masterpiece that would be comparable to Zelig. Did it live up to expectations?

The film’s title actually intrigued me. Is that the female lead’s name? It turned out that Vicky and Cristina are two American girls who spend a summer in Barcelona. Although they are the best of friends, they are as different as night and day (apparently, opposites do attract). Vicky (Rebecca Hall) always adheres to the social norms and conventions, while Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a free spirit.

In Barcelona, they stay in the home of Vicky’s relative (Patricia Clarkson). Vicky’s main purpose of flying to Barcelona is to do a research on Catalan culture, while Cristina, a short filmmaker, is there to do pursue another one of her hobbies, photography.

What otherwise would have been a peaceful stay for them in that beautiful city is disrupted when they meet a painter (Javier Bardem), who is just recovering from a messy divorce with another artist (Penelope Cruz). Introducing himself to the two women, the painter is upfront in saying that he hopes to bed the both of them.

Vicky, who is conservative and about to be wed, is turned off by the bold proposition, but guess who hits the sack first with the painter? The rest of the film shows more complications as Cristina also decides to live in with the painter and, later, even his mentally unstable artist wife. 

In spite of the many twists and turns in the story, Vicky Cristina Barcelona has more talk than plot. And it doesn’t help that there is a voice-over narration — like viewers have poor comprehension and everything has to be explained to them.

Allen also seemed to have been caught in a time warp in this latest movie of his. It is so ‘70s — the way it is put together. Even its texture feels dated.

I am also surprised how it won Best Picture in a Comedy or Musical in the Golden Globes. It’s neither comedy nor musical. For a comedy, the laughs are few and far between. Musical? There is a little nice song that is played in the beginning and in the end, but that’s about it.

The film basically is about Allen’s take on romantic relationships and its intricacies. But though I am no prude and wouldn’t want to pass moral judgment, I find the story to be a bit perverse. It’s another one of those Allen fantasies that he puts on celluloid.

Now, for those who dream of going to Spain but couldn’t afford it yet, the movie offers postcard shots of Barcelona — its architecture in particular. Visually, this film is a treat — thanks to the wonderful sceneries and the way the director captures modern life in Barcelona. In moments when the story drags, the viewer only has to train his eyes on the sights to ward off boredom.

To Allen’s credit, he also handles his cast very well. Hall is very effective in the way she conveys the confused emotions within her, particularly in the beginning when she is trying to shoo away the temptation that is Bardem.

Johansson has given better performances in her other films, but she isn’t exactly all that bad here. It’s just that her character lacks layers and she isn’t asked to do much in this movie.

Previous Oscar winner (Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men) Bardem is able to flesh out his role well and is very convincing as the artist who loves life, women and his work.

But it is Cruz who comes out best among them all. She is, after all, the one who gets to win an Oscar in this film — for Best Supporting Actress. It’s just a pity that she appears only in the middle of the movie. But when she does, she sets the screen on fire with her performance. She is the only reason why I didn’t regret watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona.