MATCH POINT — *** 1/2 — Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer; rated R (sex, violence, profanity, brief drugs).

As it turns out, all it took for stumbling filmmaker Woody Allen to regain his cinematic footing was a change of scenery. In this case, out of the United States altogether.

Allen's latest, "Match Point," is set in England, and while the dialogue still bears his unmistakable imprint, this erotic thriller has a distinct, refreshing European feel to it. In fact, the film has more in common with Robert Altman's "Gosford Park" or most anything by Alfred Hitchcock than most of Allen's oeuvre (save, perhaps, "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "Interiors").

"Match Point" is easily Allen's best work in quite some time — a smart, sexy picture that makes an ideal star vehicle for Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers ("Bend It Like Beckham," "Alexander"). He stars as Chris Wilton, a once-promising tennis player now working as a tennis instructor for a British club.

That's how he meets wealthy Tom Hewitt (Matthew Goode), to whom Chris offer a few pointers on his game, and becomes his friend. Tom, in turn, introduces Chris to his sister, Chloe (Emily Mortimer), who's instantly taken with the handsome tennis pro. And before you know it, the two are engaged.

Unfortunately, Chris is also drawn to Nola Rice (Scarlett Johansson), an out-of-work actress from America who's dating Tom, though Tom's snooty parents (Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton) frown on the relationship. Despite some obvious misgivings, Chris begins seeing Nola on the side — but he's not as cautious as he thinks, and their illicit meetings may cost him everything he's worked for.

This is a very different piece from Allen in many ways. He has toned down his style, and gone are the trademark jazz soundtrack, the old-fashioned title cards and the single-camera cinematography (the latter in favor of trickier, more expansive work from director of photography Remi Adefarasin).

And Allen's two leads, Rhys Meyers and Johansson, positively smolder together. Which is not meant to slight the solid supporting cast; Mortimer and Goode are fine as the Hewitt siblings, as are Cox and Wilton, though you might wish they had more to do.

"Match Point" is rated R for scenes of simulated sex and other sexual contact, a couple of brief scenes of violence (shootings, mostly overheard), scattered use of strong profanity, and some brief drug content (references to prescription drug use). Running time: 124 minutes.

---

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com