Midnight in Paris

Rating: 9/10 (17 April 2020)

Midnight In Paris
Midnight In Paris captures the essence of Paris in the opening with rich color palettes and breathtaking scenery.
Gil (Owen Wilson) is an introverted, intellectual, screenwriter who's aspiring to become an honest novel-writer. His girlfriend, Inez (Rachel McAdams) is more of a naive, extroverted partner who finds the joy/pleasure of the blissful atmosphere / fine living of Paris. Her parents are both right-wing and instantly get the wrong impression of Gil (no surprise). Inez's friends and her go for a dance while Gil decides to take a midnight stroll while intoxicated.
Gil ends up at a party where the essence of art / culture surprise him and he meets two ancient celebrities, the Fitzgeralds. They're both writers and perceive Gil as a noble, objective intellectual (not some pseudo-intellectual like Inez's friend). They leave the "boring" party and make way to a bar where Gil meets another writer, Hemingway. Yes, Ernest Hemingway. Gil is perhaps traveling back in time and meeting famous writers that paved the way for modern literature. Gil realizes the opportunity of a lifetime and asks Hemingway to critique his noble. One particular quote I adored by Hemingway was, "If it's bad, I'll hate it because it's bad writing. If it's good, I'll be envious and hate it all the more. You don't want the opinion of another writer." The sheer truth and reality of that quote applies to many modern-day aspiring writers, as well as properly implicating the competitiveness of humanities creativity. As Gil leaves the bar, it suddenly goes back to a normal laundromat, as if the fantasy disappears and he's back to reality.
The next morning, Inez claims she had a great time , while Gil is still dazed / perplexed by his encounter with Hemingway / Fitzgerald. Inez ignorantly ignores Gil and focuses on the materialistic, fun aspects while Gil explores and contemplates the true beauty of Paris.
Later that night, Gil takes Inez to the exact location where the ominous 20's car picks him up. Hemingway is inside the car, and I was infatuated by the infusion of the screenplay wrapped with the raw words of wisdom by Hemingway. It's like the writing is so real that it comes off as natural and intended by the characters of the film. Hemingway suggests Gil's fiancé isn't the one for him by creating a complex allegory between sex/passion and life/death. Eventually, they make their way to a social gathering where Gil meets Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). Stein is another true artist who focuses solely on the natural beauty of art rather than the forgettable, meaningless, "pretentious" art.
The next morning, Gil is wrapped up in the ever-so repetitive conversation with his pseudo intellectual, ignorant fiancée and acquaintance. We keep seeing the distinct difference between Gil's modern day friends/family, and his cultural aficionados who never back away from what's real. It's a perfect, ironic theme that Gil's "fantasy" world is the realest aspect of his life.
My favorite scene in the film happens to follow his actualization between reality and fantasy (both flipped in this story, sorry for the confusion). Gil and his gang head to a local art museum, where Paul is posing / falsely claiming the originality of the abstract paintings. You can clearly see he's trying to hard by using "intellectual" words and remaining ambiguous to attempt to manipulate his audience. Of course, Inez attempts to mute Gil when he properly interprets each painting, which only goes to show how he's vastly under appreciated and misinterpreted.
Gil meets Adriana, who is currently in relations with Picasso, and he needs advice. He decides to converse with Dali (Adrien Brody) about his affection towards Adriana and Inez. He's starting to realize his place and the incompatibility of his current relationship.
One fateful night, Stein informs Gil that his book could use more abstract thought and bold remarks. She suggests that everyone wants to find their existential place in the universe, oh so wise.
The next day, Gil purchase a novel written by Adriana, claiming she loves Gil's naive, unassuming personality. She even goes on to say she had a fantasy about them making love.
I enjoyed the thought-provoking aspects of the time-travel paradoxes, and the psychology of the characters contemplating their times and make their way to the "Golden Age". Adriana claims the Renaissance was the golden age while Gil believes the 20's is the golden age.
The timeless idea that life is unsatisfying no matter what "age" you're in really got to me, but all's we can do is find an equilibrium between real life and our abstract thoughts, as well as our emotions and logic.
When Stein and Hemingway speak up about Inez's affair that Gil was in "denial" about, he decides to break up with Inez and live an independent life in Paris. Inez and her fam call him crazy and "hallucinatory", but that only reinforces their dull, naive personalities.
Midnight In Paris tackles the surrealist aspects of our culture, while maintaining subtlety and a well-written, cohesive, time traveling story. It's visually stunning, and provides quirky, fun characters. I enjoyed the consciousness and realism vastly, and was encapsulated by the personalities of the characters.
9/10