Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking
Cast: Owen Wilson, Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody
Director: Woody Allen
Allen's love affair with Paris reaches enchanting heights here, as the film opens with a treasure trove of images from all over the alluring city. These aren't lingering shots you might find in a travelogue, however, but relatively quick cuts, evoking one's fond memory of a place visited long ago. From there, we meet Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a Hollywood-screenwriter-turned-unpublished-novelist. He expresses to his fiancee, Inez (Rachel McAdams) how wonderful it would be to settle in Paris, and contemplates out loud how incredible it must have been for those who experienced the Parisian atmosphere of the 1920s. Inez listens, but is a bit too practical to take his romantic idealism into her own heart.
Gil and Inez are visiting the city with Inez' parents. They tour the sights, accompanied by an old friend of Inez... a smug, know-it-all, twit of a man (Michael Sheen) who takes pride in challenging the historical details imparted by tour guides while gleefully ridiculing Gil's adoration for 1920s Paris, likening it to a writer pounding out work in a dusty attic replete with a skylight. ("All that's missing is the tuberculosis," he adds.) After a full day with this blowhard, Gil opts out of joining Inez and her friends for a night on the town, and instead embarks on a quiet stroll through Paris' winding, seductively lit cobblestone streets...
It's here where the magical allure of the atmosphere takes control. Gil finds himself lost in the city's back alleys. The clock strikes midnight. A horse-drawn carriage rounds the corner and stops before him. The carriage is teeming with socialites who whisk him away to a party that seems like a costume ball with a 20s theme. The bizarre setting takes an even more bizarre turn when Gil is introduced to various partygoers who call themselves F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), and Cole Porter (Yves Heck). Is this a practical joke? Or an impractically glorious fantasy? Gil soon embraces the latter, for a romantic like him not doing so would constitute a crime.
Each night, Gil marches back to the same spot and awaits the stroke of midnight. He meets more historical icons, including Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody), and strikes up a special friendship with Picasso's mistress (Marion Cotillard) who flitters from lover to lover the way Gil seems to be flittering through time. And imagine Gil's shock at the prospect of his manuscript being critiqued by Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). He couldn't have conjured up a better fantasy. (I found Gil's sincerity upon embracing the artistic reverie truly engaging. My favorite scene involves him pitching an idea to Spanish surrealist Luis Bunuel (Adrien de Van)... "It's about a dinner party where the guests can't leave." Bunuel is intrigued but confused. "Why can't they leave?" he asks. "They just can't.")
I've always admired Woody Allen's contribution to the cinema, even as I struggle with his personal life antics and subsequent justifications. (His quote in response to bedding his adopted daughter "the heart wants what the heart wants" would probably carry more weight if homewreckers didn't employ the same philosophy.) True, the days of "Annie Hall," "Manhattan," and "Crimes and Misdemeanors" seem far behind him and his track record does appear spotty in these later years, but perhaps that's an unfair criticism... nobody works more frequently than Allen. "Midnight in Paris" is a like a delightful dessert to the more substantial depth and meaning of his earlier work. The point of the movie is to make the most of your own time instead of longing for a period that always seems more appealing than the one you're living now.
Owen Wilson makes a smooth transition from awestruck to sincere upon grasping the nature of the fantasy before him. The supporting players embody their respective historical icon roles with rich exuberance. The film isn't for everyone. It'll appeal most to lovers of art, history, and especially literature. I doubt there will be moderate reactions here; you'll either be charmed or you won't. I enjoyed it greatly. If your palette is sweetened by historical Parisian aesthetic, this movie will offer you a smorgasbord of magic. Enjoy.
* * * 1/2 out of * * * * stars
