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Year after year, throughout his 45 years as a director, Woody Allen has cranked out movie after movie—quirky little comedies, mysteries, and romances starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. He’s made some good movies and some not-so-good movies, as well as some movies that are simply magical—like his latest, Midnight in Paris.
Owen Wilson stars as Gil, a successful Hollywood screenwriter who’s struggling to break into the literary world as a novelist. While in Paris with his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), and his future in-laws, Gil fantasizes about living in the City of Lights in the Roaring ‘20s—a more romantic time, when the city was populated with famous painters and writers and musicians.
One night, at the stroke of midnight, Gil gets his wish. He’s magically transported back to the ‘20s, where he gets to hobnob with F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), who even agrees to help him with his novel.
Gil begins rushing off each night to return to the past. And as he finds himself falling in love with Picasso’s mistress, Adriana (Marion Cotillard), he and Inez begin drifting apart.
With its adorably awkward chattiness and its wry sense of humor, Midnight in Paris is pure Woody Allen: a captivating (and downright entertaining) blend of crisp, clever dialogue and rambling monologues. Allen’s writing is as fresh and fun as it’s ever been—and the mystical story might bring back memories of another Allen favorite, 1985’s The Purple Rose of Cairo.
The cast, meanwhile, is simply brilliant. Wilson portrays Allen’s typical protagonist with pitch-perfect perplexity. And he’s skillfully supported by a bevy of talented actors in memorable roles—whether they’re larger roles, like Cotillard and Michael Sheen, who plays Inez’s pompous know-it-all friend, or minor roles like Adrien Brody’s Dalí. And, of course, Paris itself shines as a supporting cast member. In capturing the antique shops of modern-day Paris to the clubs of the 1920s, Allen’s simple cinematography feels like a classic Parisian postcard.
Midnight in Paris is a smart movie, loaded with so many brainy references to classic writers and artists and other famous people that you may sometimes feel like you’re missing the joke. If you haven’t read Hemingway, for instance, you might not understand what makes Stoll’s earnestly dry performance so hilarious to the people sitting around you. You may miss some of the references; you may not know some of the famous characters or their stories. Still, you’ll easily understand what makes Gil so desperate to return to them night after night. They’re passionate; they’re energetic; they’re full of life. And, like Gil, you’ll find yourself drawn into their world, looking forward to each night, when you can return to those charming characters and their thrilling parties.
Midnight in Paris has everything you could possibly want in a breezy summer flick: comedy, romance, fantasy…and Paris. And, thanks to its clever writing and remarkable cast, it’s sure to find a place among your favorite Woody Allen films.
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