Allen scores with Barcelona love triangle

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/15/2008 5:24 am

Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" is a fatalistic analysis of human nature and relationships, but crafted in a way that sparks with life and love.

The film follows two American women in their 20s who come to Barcelona to spend a summer together and, inevitably, have their world shaken. An unidentified male voice narrates their experience, a charming addition that propels the story forward and lets us see the meat of it without too much exposition.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is a graduate student using the time in Spain to study up for her thesis on "Catalan identity." But it's her own identity that seems so elusive, especially to herself. She presents herself as a level-headed nonromantic, all ready to settle into married life with her nice, boring fiance Doug (Chris Messina). Her best friend Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) is a libertine who knows only what she doesn't want, and that's "factory-made zombies" like Doug.

Already on one of their first nights in town, the two women are propositioned by a painter named Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem). One thing leads to another, and Vicky and Cristina soon become enveloped in a maddening love triangle. Cristina moves in with Juan, and Vicky loses herself in a neurotic struggle between stability and love.

The situation is complicated even more when Juan's crazy ex-wife Maria Elena shows up on his doorstep after her latest suicide attempt. Penelope Cruz shines as Maria Elena, a role that should get her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She flies in circles around Juan, screaming threats alternately in English and Spanish before calming down enough to make perceptive observations about the situation. Maria Elena radiates a wisdom and passion that Vicky and Cristina are on their way to discovering.

Vicky, despite her protests to the opposite, has a passionate core that emerges as she wrestles between her stable commitment to Doug and her real love for Juan. And Cristina, all declarations to free love withstanding, is strangely not yet grounded enough to burn with the fire that Maria Elena and Vicky do.

The acting overall is exceptional, with the only disappointment being Johansson, who is often wooden on screen and lets her head-turning looks lead the way. It sometimes works for the character of Cristina, who has an overabundance of enthusiasm without a very developed sense of self. Later in the film, Johansson creates some good moments playing up the desperation of Cristina and her longing to be interesting.

Hall fits the role of Vicky well, and plays on the duality of the character with believable verve. Her scenes with Bardem spark. He's playing the polar opposite of his coldly terrifying role in "No Country for Old Men," and he's utterly comfortable and appealing in the character.

Nothing is simple in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." This is Woody Allen, after all. The plot, at face value, could have been very one-dimensional and exploitatively sexed-up. But Allen keeps his characters from getting what they ultimately want. And that, in the words of Maria Elena, is what makes romance. 

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VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA

3 1/2 stars

Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz.

Rated: PG-13 for sexuality and language

How long: 1:36

Where: Sundance

Katjusa Cisar  —  8/15/2008 5:24 am