Match Point & Crime and Punishment

1405 Words3 Pages

The murder scenes in both Match Point and Crime and Punishment, represent the constant struggle between fantasy and reality, nihilism and faith. Nihilism is the rejection of traditional views, there is no God; therefore, there is no meaning to life. Whether an individual believes in God or a higher power, determines their relationship to moral behavior. If there is no God, then one can get away with anything: murder, bend and break rules, satisfy urges, give in to dark desires, live a double life, and smooth over problems. There are no existential consequences, assuming one can overcome their moral conscience. The opposite is true in regard to the “fantasy” outlook of society. In the presence of a higher power, virtues such as honesty, integrity, forgiveness, kindness, and compassion, demand that one must fulfill this moral obligation. Woody Allen, uses Match Point as a reminder that the amoral perspective is the reality of society, while the moral vision is the ideal. Woody Allen and Dostoyevsky’s characters represents these two contrasting ideologies. Allen’s character Chris, reflects the personage that Dostoyevsky attempted to represent in Crime and Punishment, a character so disconnected from morality that he can get away with murder. These characters are tools that reflect the ideal of “fantasy versus reality” of their creators. Dostoyevsky created his character to represent the presence of justice in a world lacking a higher power. Whereas, Woody Allen uses the character of Chris to relate the nihilist theme: the world exist without a higher power or a moral justice system; therefore, there is no reason to conform to social constraints. Match Point challenges the ideals presented in Crime and Punishment, that one has to b...

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...esponsibility of moral obligation and punishes themselves. Chris, was able to move on from this, he moved on from the guilt and the crime, his indifference is the root of his success. By contrasting Match Point’s murder scene, to the murder scene in Crime and Punishment, Woody Allen challenges Dostoyevsky’s argument that society is bound by moral obligation, rather the reality is that there are no constraints binding individuals to a moral compass; therefore, one can do anything without fear of repercussion. The latter which reflects the society and the social standards that govern the actions of society.

Works Cited

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, Richard Pevear, and Larissa Volokhonsky. Crime and Punishment. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993. Print.
Match Point. Dir. Woody Allen. Perf. Jonathan Rhys Meyer, Scarlett Johansson, Mathew Goode. DreamWorks Pictures, 2005. DVD.

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