Last night I spent a few pleasant hours rolling about in the late-life alternate reality that Woody’s been creating for himself and kindly sharing with others. Every time you go it’s a little bit different, but there are a few things that one can count on: It’s somewhere in Europe. Americans will show up and feel a little sad about themselves. And Scarlett Johansson will be there too.
Last night, we went to Barcelona.
In Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody lets us travel along with two 20-something American girls who get to taste a few new things before the tarred-and-chipped road of life sets the world in stone. Although the inner-feared voice interfered with a full embrace of the choices our heroines chanced, there was a serenity at work in Barcelona that gave comfort. In Barcelona the moment must be embraced, and life must be lived. And in the end, in Barcelona, family will be loved, commitments will be honored, and conflicts will be forgiven, forgotten, and few.
Woody’s World sounds ok by me, although I’m still scratching my head a little (just a little) over the fascination with Scarlett Johansson.
Scarlett Johansson has a bit of an agelessness about her. When she was younger, in her teens, she seemed to be cast in roles where the characters were a few years older than she actually was. Maybe Woody likes that about her. He’s not unlike Hitchcock was in his obsession over his female stars. And it has always been Woody’s M.O. to work with some actors in multiple projects. Maybe he’s looking for the Diane Keaton of our generation. On a different note, we liked Rebecca Hall in this movie and felt that she was overshadowed by Scarlett and Penelope, but of the three characters she was the one who I could relate to the most and she was great in the role and she was doing a pretty good American accent.
Hey Ka —
I’m with you on Rebecca Hall’s character. She had the real conflict. Scarlett and Penelope just had their own personal dramas to live through / act out / emote over.
Did you check out Start For 10? She’s good in that one too…