Paris, Magic, and Woody Allen

Rating: 10/10 (13 June 2011)

Woody Allen has put out a movie a year since the early 70's. Sometimes the critics love it, sometimes they're indifferent. Regardless, Allen's movies are always entertaining and elegant. His latest film, Midnight in Paris, is no exception. With a highly original plot, great acting, and masterful direction, this is one of the best movies of the year, and one of Allen's greatest accomplishments.
The great comedian would have loved to cast himself as Gil, the American screenwriter spending time in Paris, but instead he puts Owen Wilson in the role, who essentially plays a Woody Allen-type character. Gil's fiancÃ©e, Inez, has very little in common with him. They disagree on almost everything, and Rachel McAdams gives a nice flair of bitchiness to the character. Their discord is heightened when Paul, an old friend of hers, shows up. He spews out knowledge that may or may not be right, and only Gil (along with the audience) see him for the shmuck he really is. So at night Gil walks the streets of his beloved Paris, and at the stroke of midnight, he is transported to 1920's Paris, meeting his literary and artistic heroes. And that's just the first plot twist.
The characters in this film are all classic Allen. Gil is neurotic, unhappy, and a defeatist. His fiancÃ©e is unsympathetic, and her parents are materialistic snobs. But the "modern day" parts pale in comparison to the colorful characters Gil meets after midnight. Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll, Kathy Bates, and the majestic Marion Cotillard all portray quirky, bizarre, and excellent caricatures of 1920's authors and artists. There is a shot in the film that exemplifies the feeling of time travel in a Woody Allen movie. Wilson sits in a 20's bar listening to swing music with an unbelieving and almost disturbed look on his face. But slowly he gets into the music, and all care of how he got there vanishes.
This is certainly one of Allen's most original ventures, ranking with his 80's masterpieces like Zelig and The Purple Rose of Cairo. He directs Midnight in Paris with a poetic hand, filling his film with dim, smoky bars, rainy city streets, and steamy romance. His script is heavily laced with obscure references, but fear not; the movie is still gut-bustlingly funny even if you've never heard of Salvador Dali.
This reviewer would encourage you to see any Woody Allen movie, but this one in particular is a knockout. Perhaps because it combines such classic Allen characters and puts them in a new, original, and inspired environment. The only complaint one could make is that the movie is over much too soon.
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