My dad and I watched Match Point the other night, for the fourth or fifth time. When we woke up the next morning and sat on the balcony to have some breakfast, I told him that my boyfriend and I were thinking of getting a dog. He hesitated for a few moments and then shared his concerns with me. “A dog is a huge responsibility, Angeliki. It takes up all your time. And it’s limiting you in so many ways”… I thought about it, but decided I still desperately wanted it. “I know… But I want it so much… We saw the cutest puppy the other day and the mother’s owner said that they’re giving her puppies away, so if we want one, we can take it! Aw, and it was so cute… Just so cute… You had to see it… Brown with white dots, and the most beautiful eyes”…

He shook his head. “You see, that’s the trap, right there. This is exactly what the film was talking about last night”. I looked at him, puzzled, and gave myself some time to think back to the movie, but could see no connection. “What film”? He thought it should have been obvious. “Match Point”! “Right”, I said, confused. “Jonathan Rhys Meyers sees the puppy and wants it. He doesn’t think about the obstacles and the potential problems, does he”? “No”, I agreed. “No. He just sees those beautiful… White dots”. “Very beautiful white dots”. “Yes, they were. But you still need to look ahead, that’s what Woody Allen is basically trying to say. You have to stop and think. Can I take care of this puppy? Do I have the space in my life for it right now? Can I give it the attention it needs? What if it gets pregnant? What do I do with the new puppies”? I nodded, really thinking about all this. “The film deals with important everyday issues”.

I decided against getting a dog in the end, because of Match Point and my dad’s interpretation of the film as a clear allegory for people hastily getting puppies they can’t look after and ending up with millions of problems. With Scarlet Johansson portraying the perfect puppy that everyone wants, and Emily Mortimer being highly convincing in the role of the boring life you are trying to sweeten up by getting a dog, Jonathan Rhys Meyer’s character is really just every single one of us. The everyday person that falls into the same trap of getting a puppy without thinking of the consequences.