MIDNIGHT IN Paris-A Valentine to the City of Lights

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2012)

One of the most productive and sought after directors (by actors), Woody Allen, has made dozens of films that deal with the often turbulent relationships between men and women. Almost exclusively a New Yorker by heart, Allen has begun a renaissance of sorts with his exploration of European settings in particular Paris, France, and although his films of the past decade have varied in quality, his latest, Midnight in Paris, is a standout and represents the writer/director at the top of his game.
Opening with a spectacular collage of vignettes, Paris never looked more enticing or romantic (Manhattan redux). At the fabled Giverny, Monet's source of inspiration, an American couple, Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) are engaged to be married and yet squabble constantly. An idealist, He is smitten by the culture and history of Paris, and one night while strolling the streets alone, a vintage car drives by and gives him a ride to a café. Gil realizes that he has been transported to 1920's Paris and is mingling with the celebrities of its heyday including some famous American ex-patriots like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gil is struggling with a novel and needs some advice, so who better than Gertrude Stein (amusingly played by Kathy Bates) to critique the manuscript? Upon his return to present day Paris, Gil wonders if it was all a dream but the scene repeats itself the next evening at midnight when he meets Pablo Picasso and the beautiful Adriana (Marion Cotillard), who captures Gil's fancy. Thinking that Gil has lost his mind, Inez begins to show interest in another male friend. Meanwhile Gil is obsessed with Adriana, and as the couple visits the Moulin Rouge, they find themselves transported to an even earlier, romantic period in French history. Gil finds that Adriana has her own ideas about life, and he is about to find true love in the unlikeliest of places.
This is Allen in high gear and, though it does not necessarily rank among his best, it certainly is a throwback to his vintage period of Manhattan and the film that this will be most compared to The Purple Rose of Cairo, with its similar combination of wistful fantasy, storybook romance, and sophisticated comedy. You do wonder how Gil and Inez could ever become a couple considering how much they bicker about most everything. It's also interesting how Allen uses a bit of sleight of hand by focusing our attention on Gil and Adriana that we miss an obvious connection. Such is love.
Gil is a surrogate for Allen's inner voice. (One could even picture a younger Allen actually performing the role.) He is also a romantic in contrast to Inez's friends who are intellectuals. As for Paris, it plays a supporting role as its landmarks are adoringly featured throughout the film without detracting from the characters or story. It is clear Allen is smitten with the City of Lights as he was with his home base of New York City.
There are some amusing scenes including the fate of a private investigator hired to follow Gil and ends up caught up in a different time running for his life. When Gil listens to old Cole Porter recordings or sees Picasso paintings in a museum, the joke is that he actually has met these men in real life! In another scene, Gil suggests to a young director, Luis Bunuel, a film idea which is the plot to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie that he will make many years later (and win an Oscar). As Salvador Dali, Adrien Brody hams it up to great effect in a brief scene.
Sure Allen has made some good films recently like Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but it's been a long while since he made anything as imaginative, comedic, and romantic at the same time. Vive le Woody Allen!