Review from writer/photographer who has seen this movie 4 times

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2012)

I have seen almost all of Woody Allen's movies and like many of his fans have been disappointed with his body of work since Mighty Aphrodite, except for Vicky Christina Barcelona. I ignored the hype about this movie and decided not to watch it in theaters. But the best picture Oscar nod got my attention. So, when it became available on demand I thought it was time I watched. Since on demand allows 24hr rentals, I end up watching this movie 4 times. Twice in the first night and twice the next day. Why? Because the first viewing really touched me.
The movie on its first viewing casts a certain old school Woody Allen spell, where you think to yourself "he's finally back." But the charm is quickly diminished by every consecutive viewing and sadly soon becomes forgettable.
I still have memories from watching his Interiors ('78) for the first time in late 90's early 2000's. There are scenes from Hanna and Her Sisters ('86), Annie Hall ('77), Radio Days ('87) that I will never forget. If any of these movies run on TCM or premium channels, I would certainly stop and watch until the end. It doesn't matter how many time I have seen them before.
But once the impact of the first viewing faded away, Midnight in Paris also fades away from memory. I think the main problem is Owen Wilson. Although this is probably the best performance he has done to date he is simply not worth repeated viewings. He does a pretty good job of channeling Woody however, but he lacks Woody's screen presence.
The ensemble however is simply brilliant and so is the art direction and the cinematography. Adrien Brody's Dali is a scene stealer.
Actually when I started writing this I intended it to be mostly a review of the cinematography by the fellow Iranian Darius Khondji. He is no doubt a master cinematographer with quite an impressive track record. The work as a whole is quite flawless and intentionally subtle, except for the lighting in one set that really bugged me all 4 times that I saw it--the Gil and Inez hotel room. The room is filmed way too yellow with a very harsh look. All the lights are turned up, even the bathroom while no one is using it. There are no effective shadows. It's lit like a TV set. I could only imagine what Robert Richardson would have done to the particular set. The glass-doors on the closets are frosted (look terrible), assuming a treatment done just for the camera as not to reflect the set lighting. Thankfully their hotel room is shown only 3 or 4 times for very short periods as most of the scenes are shot outdoors.
The postcard shots of Paris are drop dead gorgeous, so is the scene at Monet's gallery. The night shots however are magic and I think it's one of the key reasons for this movie's success.
If you are a Woody Allen fan and have given up on him and stopped watching his movies, do yourself a big favor and watch this gorgeous film. The first viewing will simply blow you away.