It's become old hat to knock Woody Allen and his recent films.. The legendary filmmaker has indeed seen better days, with 2008's excellent Vicky Cristina Barcelona
feeling like a lifetime ago. We're even further away from his true classics, like Annie Hall
or Hannah and Her Sisters
, but thinking that Allen's time is over is premature at best. His latest, Midnight in Paris, is his first film shot entirely in France. It's also a breathtakingly beautiful, whimsical gem and the most fun I've had at a Woody Allen movie in years.Moving further away from his beloved New York City has invigorated Allen, opening the film in a beautiful Manhattan
-esque montage of the City of Lights in all it's glory. It's clear from the opening frame that Allen's love of France runs deep, and his camera is more than content to linger on the dazzling scenery. As with all of Allen's films, the lead character is a fairly obvious version of himself. This time it's Owen Wilson who plays the neurotic Gil, in town with is fiance, Inez(Rachel McAdams) and her family on a business trip. A successful screenwriter of dopey films, Gil is looking to make his mark writing a novel of some worth, but of course that isn't going well. It doesn't help that he and Inez are having issues. She wants to tour the city with her family and stuck up smartypants friend, Paul(a perfectly snobby Michael Sheen). He wants to experience the city for himself in his own way, envisioning the Paris of another time when it was at it's creative peak. He's obsessed with the city's beauty, wanting nothing more than to walk through Paris in the rain.
Breaking free of Inez for an evening, Gil strikes out on his for an evening stroll, only to find himself lost. At the strike of midnight, a car pulls up in front of him full of party goers. Feeling lucky(and a little brave), Gil joins them and is whisked back in time to the roaring 1920s. It's there that he meets and becomes entangled in the lives of a number of his idols: Cole Porter, F. Scott Fitzgerald(Tom Hiddleston) and his intense wife Zelda(Alison Pill), charismatic Ernest Hemingway(Corey Stoll), and many more, including a clever cameo by Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali. He meets the woman of his dreams in fanciful Parisian beauty, Adrianna(Marion Cotillard). Gil has found everything he ever wanted back in the 20s, which separates him even further from Inez and the present day. All he wants to do is get back there. Nothing else matters.
The film is at it's loopy best during these time travel sequences, as everyone is clearly having a good time playing such iconic figures. Owen Wilson, to me a weird choice to channel Allen's typical brand of anxiety, starts off trying way too hard to mimic Allen's mannerisms. It isn't long before he settles into a groove and starts molding Gil into a unique character, full of imagination and wonder. It's a joy to be a part of Gil's journey through Paris, as I imagine it was a pleasure for Allen to be the guide. I could watch this Owen Wilson all day. On the flip side, the modern scenes don't really work at all. McAdams has never been less likable, and I know that's by design but Inez makes her character in Mean Girls seem tame by comparison. We never really get to see her in any positive light, so when she appears it's an instant drag.
Allen's films have always had a hint of superiority to them. Maybe a tad too intellectual for their own good. What is funny and a little strange about Midnight in Paris is that even with so many obscure historical figures all over the place, Allen has put together one of his most accessible films. This is a movie anyone can love, whether you know your Gertrude Steins from your Ben Steins. The more you know about these people the harder some of the jokes will land. In the midst of all the fun, Allen even manages to make a few smart points about the way people exaggerate how good yesteryear was. You think the people of those times thought everything was so perfect?
Midnight in Paris is far from Allen's deepest film, but it is one of his best. No, not just in a long time. I mean period. It's a magnificent, intelligent flight of fancy and a perfect little love letter.
Trav's Tip: New York native Woody Allen has no intentions of returning to film his hometown anytime soon. He's already hard at work on his next film to be shot entirely in Rome, and starring Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, and Roberto Benigni.
