Woody Allen's 42nd film, Midnight in Paris, begins with a montage of Parisian sights, beginning with delightful dawn and ending with magical midnight. This opening is like a love letter to the city; it's sort of a French cousin to the opening scene of Allen's 1979 romance Manhattan. Like Manhattan and Vicky Cristina Barcelona before it, Midnight in Paris serves as a romantic homage to its titular city. In fact, I would even call the three films a trilogy of Urban Romance (though I wonder if the Woodster himself would like that name).
Midnight in Paris stars Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and Michael Sheen.
Gil (Wilson) is vacationing with his fiancee Inez (McAdams) in Paris with her parents Wendy (Mimi Kennedy) and John (Kurt Fuller). A romantic at heart, Gil is a Hollywood screenwriter who longs to write a great novel. His fiancee and in-laws have little patience for experiencing Paris the way he does--he's in love with it. One night, while taking a late night stroll, Gil is picked up in a 1920s car and is magically transported back to the glamorous roaring 20s and rubs elbows with Gertrude Stein (Bates), Salvador Dali (Brody), Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleton, Allison Pill) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll). Gil also meets the beautiful Adrianna (Cotillard), who shares many of his passions. Gil is then torn between the magical past and the disappointing present.
If Midnight in Paris were to be Woody Allen's final film, then that would be just fine. (Luckily, it's not.) The movie encapsulates many of Woody's favorite themes and tropes. You have:
*a tirade against the pseudo-intellectual (Annie Hall)
*an element of romantic science fiction (The Purple Rose of Cairo)
*a sweet and tidy happy ending (Hannah and Her Sisters)
*a romanticizing of the past (Radio Days)
*a man falling for an unattainable woman (Crimes and Misdemeanors)
I mean, that is grossly understating things but Midnight in Paris is a melting pot of all things Allen. It's sort of like his North by Northwest. Midnight in Paris is also one of Woody Allen's funniest films in a long time. While most of his films are witty and humorous, the comedy in this movie is just on a different level than the comedies of his recent past.
Many actors have tried and failed to take on the Woody persona (like Will Ferrell in Melinda and Melinda and Jason Biggs in Anything Else). But Owen Wilson joins the elite group who are successful in their attempts (Rebecca Hall in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Mia Farrow in Alice, Jeff Daniels in Purple Rose). Wilson even adds his own sunshine charm to the character and the results are appealing and effective. I can see a Golden Globe nomination (and maybe a win!) in his future.
Of the women, I think Rachel McAdams as the shrewish fiancee has the funniest character. It's refreshing to see her play such a mean-spirited character in a humorous way. Marion Cotillard is perfect as the alluring and nostalgic Adrianna, though I wish her role was a little livelier.
Michael Sheen as a pretentious self-proclaimed "expert" who knows next to nothing is an absolute riot Both he and Corey Stoll (Law and Order: LA) bring the house down. This is definitely a breakout movie for Stoll. The rest of the supporting cast is exquisite.
For me, one of the best details of the movie is that Gil's time travel remains unexplained. Just as movie character Tom Baxter leaps out of the screen in The Purple Rose of Cairo, Gil just slides through time with a magical car. It would be too expository for Allen to give some sort of explanation. Plus, the magic and the romance of it would be lost.
Midnight in Paris is a romantic, wistful film brimming with nostalgia and humor. It is perhaps Woody Allen's best film in a long time (this coming from someone who worships Vicky Cristina Barcelona). I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Paris, the past and Woody Allen.
Midnight in Paris: A
