Vicky Cristina Barcelona - B

In theaters. Rated R, 96 minutes. Trailer.

Woody Allen's latest film is set in beautiful Barcelona and tells the tale of free spirited American Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), engaged, neurotic and pragmatic American Vicky (Rebecca Hall), sensitive artist lothario Juan Antonio(Javier Bardem), and manic and beautiful Spanish artist Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz). Vicky and Cristina arrive in Barcelona for a summer with Vicky's relatives and are soon approached by Juan with a proposition to go away with him (then a stranger) for the weekend. Vicky protests at the absurdity of the idea but Cristina is enchanted with the artist's plan, and away they go. Click below for more VCB:

Their trip takes several twists and turns, ending up with a complicated love triangle that is only more complicated once Maria Elena comes back to live with Juan, along with Cristina. Lots of intelligent dialogue ensues with consideration of stability versus passion, traditional values versus self indulgence, etc. It is hard to say whether Woody is saying that within every woman lies part of Vicky and part of Cristina, or he is trying to compare Europe's (Cristina's) values to America's (Vicky's) values. Either way, it must be easy to live the 'artistic' life in a beautiful mansion in Barcelona with a vintage Alfa Romeo and nothing to do but paint and get into a live in relationship with Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz.

Cruz shines as the firecracker Maria Elena, and she will likely earn a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the performance. Bardem and Johansson seem to be playing themselves, which works for Javier but not Scarlett. Rebecca Hall is great as Vicky, the character clearly modeled after Woody himself, with the wordy analytical protestations at every turn. All in all, the film was enjoyable to watch, with a novel story and characters as well as classic Woody dialogue - intelligent and incisive. Almost a B+.

Today in the NYTimes, Woody has a hilarious tongue-in-cheek 'diary' from the filming. As a sidenote, Woody is heavy on the Gaudi with lots of Sagrada Familia and Parc Guel visits. Makes for an interesting and visual backdrop.