That's what the present is. It's a little unsatisfying because life is unsatisfying.

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2018)

In the beginning, for about 4 minutes, you get to watch Paris from all the angles. Nothing in particular. You just get to see people in the streets and some trademarks of the city, like Eiffel Tower or Louvre Museum. After the 4 minutes are over, Owen Wilson, as Gil, starts talking about Paris and its contributions to the artists and, therefore, to the art, and what Paris means to him. These passionate statements of Gil are the earliest clues provided to us by Woody Allen about the main idea of "Midnight in Paris." The film dives immediately into the differences between Gil and Inez (Rachel McAdams) as a couple. They have absolutely nothing in common. This made me think, how they met and liked each other in the first place. Gil is a nostalgic and a hopeless romantic, whereas Inez is a typical American girl whose ideas and dreams are limited to her comfort zone. I completely share and understand Gil's loneliness among the materialist people who don't share his thoughts and ideas. Inez's inner self is the description of our modern world.
Gil is a figure who adores art and the artists that lived in the past and influenced modern art from painting to literature. Therefore, he is in love with the Jazz Age. This was a period between 1920-30, where Jazz Music became popular and influenced cultural changes. Famous American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald widely used this era in his novels. It was the golden age of art where giants like Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Luis Buñuel, Cole Porter and Ernest Hemingway lived. These writers, directors, musicians, poets and painters have greatly influenced the periods after them by leading the huge art movement of the Jazz Age. In order to fully comprehend Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," you need to have a certain knowledge about art and its influencers. Woody Allen makes this movie for a certain type of audience. I fully support this. To create diversity in cinema, it is great to have films that are made for a certain group of people with certain level of knowledge. You may still enjoy "Midnight in Paris" without these knowledges, but your joy and pleasure will not be as great as others.
Gil is Woody Allen in "Midnight in Paris." In Allen's films you get to see at least one character that is in the role of Woody Allen. Gil is a successful, but uninspired Hollywood screenwriter. He complains about superficiality of Hollywood films and how those films are good for everyone but fail to be remembered after some time. In my opinion, this is exactly how Woody Allen perceives modern cinema and therefore, he makes this film which is intended for certain type of people. After all, there is no rule that says everyone must understand every film. In this point of view, "Midnight in Paris" the dust over the cinema, given the fact that it is turning out to be an industry that intends to make more money by ignoring the quality.
Through the eyes of Adriana (Marion Cotillard), Woody Allen points out that people will always miss the past and everything that comes along with it. From an artist's point of view, a constant desire to catch up with the past might have influenced all branches of art. Present is just the imitation of the past with the available features of today. This influence can be seen everywhere. No matter what era you are living in, you will always have a desire for the past. His love for Paris is also hidden in Adriana's sentences. "I can never decide whether Paris is more beautiful by day or by night" is just one of them.
Owen Wilson's amazing acting and facial expressions fill the role of Gil successfully. Gil is a passionate guy. Audience must feel this in every scene. From this point of view, Owen Wilson does an amazing job and manages to spread his astonishment and happiness throughout the film which is essential for the role and for the film. Another praise goes to Kathy Bates for her role as Gertrude Stein. She is firm, strong and right on the spot. I don't remember a failed role of Kathy Bates anyway.
The scenes where Gil walks in the streets of Paris and how camera is following him with a wide angle, capturing his surroundings, are an absolute delight.
There is nothing better than getting lost in Paris at midnight. A car pulls over and takes you to a life which you will never be able to forget. This is what Woody Allen does as a writer and as a director.