The mentality of the city that never sleeps meets the beauty of city of lights.

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2011)

Woody Allen's first screenplay What's New Pussycat was produced in 1965 and I'm happy to say after forty six years and forty something films later...he's still "gettin it done". Midnight in Paris is the most recent Allen opus and like previous works Match Point, Scoop and Vicky Cristina Barcelona he utilizes a European back drop with the same visual charm he used on Manhattan for the first three quarters of his career. Ironically, the city of lights seems a natural fit for Allen's love of the artistic side of any large metropolis.
The film stars Owen Wilson in a role that Allen himself could have played thirty years ago (a trend in many of Allen's newest works). As a Hollywood screenwriter longing for the art and romance of a bygone time, Wilson surprisingly inhabits the nebbish qualities of a typical Allen leading man. Rachel McAdams is his frustrated fiancé' and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard plays his "muse" or as Allen aficionados may call ithis Parisian "Annie Hall".
The premise and characters are obviously similar to many Allen films, which of course is not a bad thing (if it's not broke, Woody doesn't fix it). However where it excels is its combination of a classic Allen theme with an exquisite period piece. In addition to the beautiful costumes, sets and production value the really fun aspect of the film is guessing just who may show up in 1920's Paris. Whether it's Kathy Bates' Gertrude Stein, Adrian Brody's Salvador Dali (and if you're keeping count that's two more Oscar winners) or Corey Stoll's Ernest Hemingway, the parade of colorful and historic people inhabiting the social scene of France is a literal who's who of artists, writers and dancers. Needless to say there is also a fair amount of verbal dry wit and humorous dialogue to balance out the beautiful setting and story.
What this film demonstrates more than anything is Allen's durability in still putting out good films after over four decades as a filmmakera feat not easily accomplished, especially for comedies. He averages a film a year and even his contemporaries Mel Brooks and Mike Nichols, comic geniuses in their own right, have not had as much consistent success. Keep them coming Woody.