Salt Lake Tribune Review
In
Woody Allen's latest comedy of manners, passion sweeps up two New York pals - strait-laced post-grad candidate Vicky (
Rebecca Hall) and frustrated artist Cristina (
Scarlett Johansson) - during a summer in Barcelona when they meet a smoldering hot painter, Juan Antonio (
Javier Bardem). Cristina gets into a heavy relationship with Juan Antonio and his unstable ex-wife, Mara Elena (Penlope Cruz), but it's the engaged Vicky who gets really hot and bothered. For all the much-publicized sparks among Johansson, Bardem and Cruz, it's the comparatively unknown Hall (Starter for 10, The Prestige) who engages us most as Vicky dithers between her safe fianc (
Chris Messina) and the dangerous Juan Antonio. And who knew a Spanish accent could make Woody's familiar neurotic dialogue sound fresh?
-- Sean P. Means
The rundown: Woody Allen's neurotic comic voice finds sexy new life in Spain, as two tourists (
Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson) find romance with
Javier Bardem in Barcelona. 96 minutes. (SPM)
Synopsis: Two young American women, Vicky and Cristina, come to Barcelona for a summer holiday. Vicky is sensible and engaged to be married; Cristina is emotionally and sexually adventurous. In Barcelona, they're drawn into a series of unconventional romantic entanglements with Juan Antonio, a charismatic painter, who is still involved with his tempestuous ex-wife Maria Elena.
