Theatrical Review of Vicky Cristina Barcelona

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Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Johansson) arrive in Barcelona for a summer vacation. For Vicky, it´s work: she´s finishing her thesis on Catalan identity. For Cristina, it´s play. That´s not the only the friends differ from each other. They have polar opposite views of love. Vicky knows what she wants: stability, comfort, and, above all, commitment. Cristina isn´t sure what she wants; she only knows what she doesn´t want: stability, comfort, and, above all, commitment.

The reason we know that Vicky and Cristina view love so differently is that the narrator (Christopher Evan Welch) tells us in very explicit terms. He will return repeatedly to explain to us exactly what everyone is thinking and feeling throughout the movie, presumably so that the actors don´t have to try too hard to convey the same information. Many films have made similar use of narration to produce a literary effect ("Age of Innocence" and "Barry Lyndon" are two examples that spring to mind) but the device mostly irritates here because this is such a lightweight script, heavy on dialogue but light on ideas.

The film´s main action kicks off when the two friends are propositioned at dinner by local artist Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem, whose character is named for his uncle, famed director Juan Antonio Bardem). In a very straightforward negotiation, Juan Antonio invites the women to accompany him for the weekend where they will drink wine and make love. Vicky is offended; Cristina is intrigued. Get it, they´re opposites. Since the only other option would be to end the film here, the two women agree to fly away with the handsome Spaniard, initiating a series of interlocking and constantly morphing relationships that define the rest of the film.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" finds Allen lapsing back into his misanthropic mode. He views most of his characters with condescension that crosses the border into outright contempt at times. Vicky´s clueless soon-to-be-husband Doug (Chris Messina) receives the lion´s share of Allen´s disdain for his yuppie mannerisms shallow worldview. But it´s hard to see how Doug´s myopic materialism is any more superficial than Cristina´s narcissism masquerading as personal and sexual liberation, or Juan Antonio´s… narcissism masquerading as personal and sexual liberation. Under Allen´s withering gaze, nobody is particularly likeable except perhaps for Juan Antonio´s father Julio (Josep Maria Domènech), a brilliant poet who hates the world so much he denies it his art by refusing to publish. When that´s the character who comes across most sympathetically, you know you´re in for an unpleasant time.

One f the strangest aspects of Allen´s body of work is the way he can strike the perfect tone with dialogue in one film, then turn a tin ear in the next. Chalk it up to experimentation from a prolific artist. Vicky and Cristina both sound like they´ve just stumbled in from a screening of "The Happening" and haven´t yet readjusted to a world of normal acculturated human speech. We spend all our time listening to people who have nothing interesting to say, and insist on saying it over and over again. Hall delivers the most compelling performance, but her conversion from strident prude to gooey romantic smacks more of a writer hammering home a thesis then a plausible character development. Johansson mostly drifts along in an empty-headed role as an artist manqué looking for love in all the wrong places.

After a numbing first half, the film receives a welcome jolt from the introduction of Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz) as Juan Antonio´s violent and unstable ex-wife. She´s a bundle of nervous energy ready to explode at any time, either with love or with violence. The jumpstart only fires the engine for so long, though, and even Maria Elena soon becomes a caricature, particularly in her final scene.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a tweener. It´s neither a compelling drama like "Match Point" (2005) nor a charming comedy like "Scoop" (2006). There are plenty of punch lines but they´re more cruel than funny, and the film struggles to be taken seriously as an examination of the complex nature of love and lust (synonymous here), but the script is too slight to be given much credence. A not particularly funny comedy, and not particularly convincing drama, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" settles for mediocrity, and its only lingering effect is the sour taste it leaves behind. Barcelona looks beautiful though.


5/10 on the DVDTown scale.

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