Match Point 2005

In the world of high-stakes tennis, Chris Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has always relied on charm rather than hard work to get ahead. As a trainer at an elite London club, he’s able to rub shoulders with the wealthy and influential, including his close friend Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode). When Chris begins dating Tom’s sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer), a sweet but unassuming heiress who is immediately smitten with his wit and charm, it seems like he’s found the perfect arrangement.

However, Chris’s attention is soon diverted by Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), a fiery American actress who is struggling to make a name for herself on the London stage. Despite her tough exterior, Nola has a vulnerable side that she only reveals when she’s alone with Chris. The two share a deep attraction, but their love is complicated by the fact that Tom is Nola’s boyfriend and the Hewett family - including Alec (Brian Cox) and Eleanor (Penelope Wilton) - are keen on Chris as a potential son-in-law.

As Chris becomes increasingly torn between his obligations to Chloe and his passion for Nola, he finds himself working in an office job at Chloe’s father’s company. Meanwhile, Tom and Nola’s relationship begins to fray, leading them to eventually split up. In the end, Chris makes the difficult decision to marry Chloe, while Nola moves on to a new chapter with a family-approved beau.

As Chris’s professional star continues to rise, his personal life becomes increasingly entangled in a web of complexity. The company’s investment in his master’s studies in Economics yields a promotion, but it’s a double-edged sword that amplifies the pressure he feels from Nola (character), whose demands for more and more escalate with each passing day. The relationship, once smooth-sailing, has transformed into a powder keg of tension, finally culminating in the bombshell revelation: she’s pregnant with Chris’s child. Initially, Chris tries to persuade her to consider an abortion, but Nola is resolute, having already undergone two previous terminations. She’s adamant that this time will be different, insisting that Chris divorce his current wife, Chloe, and marry her.

As Chris struggles to cope with the weight of these new expectations, he’s further burdened by the stress of Chloe’s own fertility issues. The couple’s sex life becomes a source of duress, as they’re forced to synchronize their cycles in an effort to conceive. This pressure cooker atmosphere ultimately leads Chris down a dangerous path of infidelity, but it’s not until Nola begins harassing him throughout London that he reaches a breaking point. In a desperate attempt to silence her, Chris hatches a plan to make her murder appear as a robbery gone wrong, using a hunting shotgun to break into her flat.

However, his scheme is foiled when a nosy neighbor stumbles upon the scene, leaving Chris no choice but to eliminate this new obstacle. The investigation that follows moves at a glacial pace, with detectives Parry (Steve Pemberton) and Banner (James Nesbitt), accompanied by Inspector Dowd (Ewen Bremner), slowly closing in on Chris’s involvement. Despite his attempts to keep his past with Nola under wraps, the authorities discover his name in her address book and uncover a trail of incriminating evidence through her diaries. Chris is eventually forced to visit the police station for questioning, where he must confess their former relationship while promising to keep it confidential.

In a desperate bid to cover his tracks, Chris disposes of the ring he used as a diversion, tossing it into the River Thames. Unbeknownst to him, the ring bounces off the metal railing and lands in plain sight at a popular tourist site, setting the stage for the detectives’ eventual discovery of his guilt.

As the investigation unfolds, one detective’s unease grows, as the case begins to unravel in his mind like a thread pulled loose from a sweater. It’s during a particularly vivid dream that Nola and the nosy neighbor converge, casting suspicion on Chris. The detective is poised to share his theory with his colleagues when an unexpected twist intervenes: news of another murder rocks the precinct, this time claiming the life of a known drug addict who just so happened to be in possession of the ring. This revelatory detail serves as a lifeline for Chris, ultimately exonerating him from suspicion and dispelling any doubts that may have lingered about his character.

With Chris’s name cleared, the detectives can’t help but chuckle at the stark contrast between his carefully ordered life and the chaos that could have erupted had he indeed been involved in an illicit affair. The ring’s reappearance has effectively silenced any whispers of impropriety, leaving Chris to bask in the warmth of a newfound sense of security.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Chris is celebrating a trifecta of good fortune: Chloe returns home from the hospital with their newborn baby, all while his secret remains safely under wraps and his financial woes disappear like mist on a sunny day. A brilliant business idea has suddenly materialized, casting a golden glow over Chris’s future.

As the camera pans out to capture Chris’s contented, half-smirking face, it’s hard not to feel a shiver run down one’s spine – there’s something unsettlingly smug about his expression, as if he’s convinced himself that nothing can ever bring him down. In this moment, he bears an uncanny resemblance to someone who has transcended the boundaries of right and wrong, a master manipulator operating with reckless abandon. The final shot lingers, leaving us with a sense of unease that Chris might just be the one person who truly believes they’re above the law.