Midnight: Paris is Most Beautiful in the Rain

Rating: 9/10 (2 May 2012)

Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris is a magical comedy that makes the past more present than ever. Gil Pender's (Owen Wilson) Paris is at once whimsical, alluring, and neurotic. The midnight vistas Woody Allen sets are a cinematographers dream, from the sparkling champagne flute Eiffel Tower to throwback gas lit lamps outside Maxim's. As Gil meets and greets with art world and literati major figures Salvidor Dali (Adrien Brody), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), and the Fitzgeralds (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill) he increasingly loosens his ties to present Malibu raised fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams). Midnight escapades with the alluring Adrianna (Marion Cotillard) lead him even farther into Paris' past. Together they learn that dissatisfaction plagues every period and is the burden that every artist bears. Allen has clearly coached Owen Wilson extensively on his personal traits; midway through the film when Gil states that in a dream "I ran out of Zithromax, then I went to the dentist and he didn't have any Novocaine" it is as if Allen himself is on screen. Neurosis is intimately woven through the script as are Allen's classic liberal lines, once referring to Tea Party Republicans as "crypto-fascist airhead zombies."
With McAdam's character Inez there is little to love. She is spoiled and expects her lifetime of happiness to come with an unlimited joint checking account and a American Express Black card. Not to mention she spends her time in Paris kvetching about the rain and slipping away to dance with a married man, a college crush who is also visiting the city of light. Allen doesn't linger on extra characters long though. He cuts to the meat of the story almost immediately giving relationships plenty of time to develop and the viewer leeway to chose: is it the past or the present Paris that holds all the allure? One thing is certain though, "Paris is the most beautiful in the rain." -ROM