Chris Wilton, a second rate tennis pro from a modest Irish background (Jonathan Rhys Meyers from Bend It Like Beckham) takes a job as a private coach in the well-heeled Belgravia district of London. His affable charm soon gains him access to a world of wealth and privilege, befriending young playboy Tom (Matthew Goode) and drawing the doting affection of his sweet, but stiff sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer).

Chris is also introduced Tom’s bombshell fiancée Nola, a struggling American actress played by Scarlett Johansson. Nola is a naturally sexy, but insecure and fickle girl whose career has never taken off because she tenses up in auditions. Immediately attracted to each other, Chris and Nola go their separate ways for the sake of responsibility (her idea).

Some time later – after Chris and Chloe have married and he is rising up through the ranks of his father-in-law’s firm – Chris sees Nola at the Tate Gallery and works her over for her phone number. They begin a lusty affair and Nola, who has broken it off with Tom and is adrift in London, becomes increasingly needy of Chris. Any fan of film noir – or film in general – can infer at this point that the story isn’t going to have a happy ending.

Written and directed in a stark departure by Woody Allen, Match Point was universally endorsed as a return to form for the former standup comic and master filmmaker, who does not appear in the film, the 35^th he’s directed. This is as if The Rolling Stones came around with an album that reminded you they once recorded “Let It Bleed” and “Exile on Main Street.”

The magic potion for the 70-year-old Allen was his decision to abandon New York as a location, and to cast this film much younger than typical. There’s none of the stunt casting that has infected Allen’s previous pictures (Hey, there’s Will Ferrell!), but a cast of English knowns and not-so knowns who fit their characters like a glove. Johansson – taking a role that Kate Winslet dropped out of – is pretty good imaging a middlebrow Britney Spears, but it’s Rhys Meyers and Mortimer who run away with the movie.

The film unfolds patiently, with lighting by Remi Adefarasin that casts London in some of the same orange, autumn tones that have graced Allen’s better looking films. Any passing fan of pulp fiction will note that Chris and Nola are outsiders, people who want in, but don’t necessarily have the conviction to work for it. When the “pulp” aspect of the story kicks in, it doesn’t disappoint.

Chris feels that winning and losing are often dictated by something as simple and arbitrary as what side of the net a serve bounces into. Allen was intrigued by luck as a strange force people are afraid to acknowledge plays a central role in life, whether in relationships, career opportunity, or if you commit a crime and hope to get away with it. The film – which is more psychological drama than “thriller” – explores this idea with elegant, yet energetic doses of suspense.

At 124 minutes, Match Point is officially the longest film Allen has ever made, but I was disappointed to see it end that soon. The unique soundtrack consists of pre-World War I opera arias from an Italian tenor named Enrico Caruso. According to Wikipedia, the arias offer ironic commentary on whatever action is taking place on screen at the time. Since I don’t speak Italian or study opera, I cannot substantiate this.

Allen hasn’t done anything this relevant since Husbands and Wives in 1992. Though originally scripted to take place in the Hamptons – and perhaps switched to London because he couldn’t exercise creative control if backed by U.S. financiers -the English location and cast reminds us how great a filmmaker Allen is. Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton are featured as Chris’ in-laws, while James Nesbitt and Ewen Bremmer play detectives.