Release Date: 5/20/11 (Limited)
Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris is a magical film that will have you smiling in your seat without realizing it. The first shots of the film depict a stunning picture of Paris, showing the city from morning until night, all shot beautifully by cinematographer Darius Khondji (Seven, Panic Room). Then we meet our main character, Gil Prender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter for Hollywood currently working on a novel about a man who owns a nostalgia shop. He’s engaged to Inez (Rachel McAdams), and the two are visiting Paris on a business trip with her father and mother. While Gil is a romantic dreamer who talks of living in a little bungalow in Paris and walking around in the rain, Inez is a realist who doesn’t want to be bothered with his silly ideas.
As the film gets going, it’s easy to see that Gil is somewhat lost and feels like a bit of an outcast with his soon-to-be family. One night after dinner he decides to walk home alone and at the strike of midnight, an old taxicab pulls up full of friendly people who invite him along. Without realizing it, Gil is transported back in time to the 1920’s. The ’20’s are completely enchanting and just as wonderful as Gil ever thought they could be. This is what he considers the Golden Age, and he soon meets all the iconic greats of the time; all the people he’s looked up to, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein. Zelda Fitzgerald is played by Alison Pil (Milk, Pieces of April). She’s brilliant as the charming, forward, and sometimes brash wife. Corey Stoll (Salt, Lucky Number Slevin) plays Hemingway and he is awesome. He speaks with a deep, monotone voice and says long, run-on sentences very reminiscent of his voice in Old Man and the Sea. Kathy Bates is Stein, who I wasn’t familiar with before the film. Stein was a writer, poet, and art collector who spent most of her life in France. She assembled a private modern art gallery where all the greats would gather and became part of her social circle. Bates plays a motherly type (as she does so well) to all the artists and writers who visit her. At first, Gil can’t believe his eyes, but he soon becomes obsessed with this other world and returns there every night.
Unaware of what the film was really about before seeing it, it was easy to witness the enchanting ’20’s through Gil’s eyes, and be just as excited about it as he was. The fantastical aspect of the film is unexpected and wonderful. The era is depicted beautifully and the characters are all charming and delightful – especially Adriana, played by the elegant Marion Cotillard. Adriana has been the mistress of many of the great artists, including Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, and her and Gil immediately get along. She’s a dreamer, too, and it’s difficult not to fall in love with her. Cotillard plays a breathtaking flapper – she fits right in with that time period. Gil soon likes this other world much more than his own, and the question arises, ‘What was/is the Golden Age? And what is so wrong with the present?’
While seeing the many historical characters appear in real life was amazing, not all of them were recognizable. That is to say, I didn’t know a bunch of them, including Stein and Salvador Dali. Dali was played by Adrien Brody, and he was a bit eccentric in the role. Afterwards I read that Dali was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter who was highly imaginative and partook in unusual and grandiose behavior. Reading that makes it obvious that Brody portrayed Dali excellently. Unfortunately, there were some other characters I didn’t know about, so much of it went over my head. Allen obviously did his research with these artists and writers and their real relationships with each other so that his actors really took on the roles. I just wish I was more knowledgeable in American literature. The film of course had Allen’s trademark opening and closing credits in black-and-white and a lead actor who is much like Woody himself. But his ability to transport the viewer to another era without making it seem cheesy or unbelievable is the magic of Midnight in Paris.
Cheap is cheap, and a good film is a Woody Allen film.
Imdb 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes 92%
Moviewiseguys 8.0/10
