Woody Allen's best movie.

Rating: 10/10 (31 July 2013)

After having made 40 motion pictures, one would think that a screenwriter/director can't come up with new material anymore. But Woody Allen, cinema's greatest veteran, always presents us new ideas for the big screen. By declaring his love to Paris while subtly including time travelling, the septuagenary New Yorker managed to revolutionize romantic comedies once again; a task that seemed virtually impossible given the copious amounts of romcoms that have been brought to us over the years. And not only did he renew the game with Midnight in Paris, Allen also created one of the most beautiful movies in recent history - both on the outward and the inward.
Don't get frightened after the first three and a half minutes, Woody Allen also has something different to offer than shots of Paris' most beloved sights set to the soundtrack of a bygone era. Soon afterwards, we make an acquaintance with Gil Pender, an established Californian screenwriter turned author that holidays in Paris with his fiancée Inez. Gil's adoration for their resort is made clear in the first spoken lines of the movie when he suggests giving up their Pasadena residence for a gorgeous little house in the city of love, while Inez is dismissive and obviously more interested in silvery wedding rings and grossly overpriced interior decoration than in the Montmartre or the Champs- Élysées. Then, the introduction to some other cast members is made - unsympathetic supporting characters that are high in number: Inez' parents as well as her teenage crush Paul and his wife are on the spot and they are the epitome of bourgeois douchebags. Understandably enough, Gil isn't very pleased with them and isn't able to take their presence for very long, but because his future wife finds more pleasure in dancing with Paul than strolling with Gil, he finds himself giving F. Scott Fitzgerald relational advise and getting writing tips from Ernest Hemingway moments later. Okay, now that last part didn't make sense.
In short, Midnight in Paris is the typical Woody Allen movie (amusing relationship problems plus beautiful images and music) with a twist. The time-travel thing is really not what audiences had expected from him, but thankfully, we're not taken in an odd future world in which a love story between humans and aliens is showcased. We are taken into the golden age of the 20s in which a love story between humans and dead humans is showcased. If you think about it that way, it doesn't become any less weird, actually. But hey, it's Woody Allen. That guy is the master of romantic cinema so why not try depicting necrophilia?
Forgive me for the last stanza, Midnight in Paris is, in fact, one of the loveliest romances I've ever seen. Paris as a setting makes every movie better, but there's more to it than that: an exceptionally good screenplay full with witty dialogue and interesting characters, a myriad of talented actors, and the basic nostalgic urge that almost everyone possesses. Allen fingers with this and shows us that is isn't a 21st century delusion in a clever way. And if you weren't aware of being nostalgic before, this movie will surely change your mind and maybe will make you go to the Rue Saint-Étienne du Mont on your next vacation in Paris, waiting for a vintage car to bring you back in time just in the manner of Gil's midnight journeys.
As always in his movies, Allen has piled up a tremendous amount of prominent actors with the unusual choices of comedy players Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams in the leading roles. I don't want to exaggerate in any point, but those two totally perform better than ever in Midnight in Paris and when I watch the movie, I always like to think that their roles in it are the only roles they've ever played, so I can blank out the weaker moments in their careers. The supporting cast includes surprises like Oscar winners Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody (as a hilarious Salvador Dalí), and Kathy Bates as well as France's former First Lady Carla Bruni as a Museum Guide, Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Michael Sheen as the aforementioned overdouchy Paul. In some cases, the characters are better known as the actors playing them, for example when seeing Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Luis Buñuel, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, or Paul Gauguin. Furthermore, Allen's mise- en-scène is absolutely masterful in terms of stage design, cinematography, or the soundtrack choices and all in all, he managed to create a diverting nostalgic romcom that kept me grinning like an imbecile during its full 94 minutes running time. Midnight in Paris is a fantastic movie even if you don't spend time thinking about why it is fantastic; it simply makes you happy and will probably tempt you to move to Paris. It's a funny, romantic, and most of all realistic take on love that is completely flawless. And additionally, you'll want to watch it again right after finishing and that's what made me give it 10/10- rating.