Woody Allen gifts us a 21st Century fairytale!

Rating: 9/10 (10 May 2012)

Remember the first time your mother read Cinderella to you? And how you cajoled her to read it to you again and again? Midnight in Paris is sure to cast a spell on you. Set in the city of orange skies, quaint tales, classic lamp posts, accordion notes and vintage wines, rouged cheeks with flirty beauty marks, unravels the tale of Gil (Owen Wilson), a Hollywood screenwriter wandering the syrupy Parisian lanes only to slide back into time to witness the glory of the city in the 1920's. He tangos with Djuna Barnes, discusses the freedom of war exploits with Hemingway, and unwinds over supper with Salvador Dali and Man Ray over surreal imagery and falls in love with a girl from the Coco Chanel's posse! A time when the who's who of the city were who else but Pablo Picasso, Scott F. Fitzgerald and Matisse and Monet paintings were sold for 500 francs! Gil, much like anyone else, finds that era as the most enthralling of all times and tries every trick in the book to hold on to that which has Cole Porter swooning its people with his ballads, when it dawns on him that he isn't the only one trying to scamper off into the past. Adriana (Marion Cotillard), Chanel's protégé and Picasso's muse, finds herself darting for ritzy Paris scene in the 1890's, with Moulin Rouge, green fairies and casinos and Belle Epoque, which she considers 'Golden age' of the city. Only to find that Henri Lautrec applauds Renaissance as the greatest period!
As the red and gold melt into one for romancing the city of lights, Woody Allen's effervescent writing deals with sensitive veracity of our everyday lives, which is that the present is unfulfilled and the past always seems magical. Nostalgia is another shade of denial and there is always endless yearning for a moment of magic.
Inez, (Rachel McAdams), playing the cheating fiancé to Gil delivers adequately as she doubts his wayward ways by saying, "That's why Daddy says you're a communist." If there were an Oscar for the Best Cameo, it would go to Adrien Brody for his portrayal of Dali and his "Rhinoceros!" Michael Sheen, playing shrewd art expert (or pseudo expert!) does an interesting portrayal his character. And if someone had to bring France's former First Lady, Carla Bruni's charisma to the Hollywood screens, it had to be Allen.
All in all, a lovely evening comedy for art lovers. So when you're over the multi-million dollar Michael Bay robots, and are looking for the some charming gourmet magic meals, watch out for the 21st Century Shakespeare, Allen, respelling fantasy realism like no one else does!