Movie Review: Midnight in Paris

Poster from Rotten Tomatoes

Rating: **** out of 4 stars

Woody Allen's most recent film is a romantic comedy that looks at the idea of nostalgia, and the fun possibilities of reliving a supposed golden age that one's choice.  For some, it might be going back to the 1950's post-war Eisenhower's America, where Rock N' Roll was in it's infancy, and Elvis roamed supreme.  For others, it might be all the way back to the Renaissance, being able to talk art with Leonardo da Vinci, or Michelangelo.  I myself don't see a definitive "golden age" to look upon, but I do have a few nominees that I would gladly consider (France during the Enlightenment, early 1800's New England, 1960's San Francisco just to name a few).  For Owen Wilson's character, Gil, it is the 1920s in Paris.

Like so many of Allen's other films, this film is absolutely charming and witty.  And like so many of his other films, the dialogue and subject matter, one could argue, borders on elitism and pretension.  But then again, intelligent dialogue and subject matters are some of the things that makes his films so memorable to begin with.  This film may not be for everyone, but as Roger Ebert put it when reviewing this film, 

There is nothing to dislike about it. Either you connect with it or not. I'm wearying of movies that are for "everybody" – which means, nobody in particular. Midnight in Paris is for me, in particular, and that's just fine with moi.

In other words, if you want high octane action and simple-to-understand dialoge, go rent Transformers.

And just as so many of Allen's films appear to be part love letters to New York City, this film appears to be his love letter to Paris.  For instance, the first few minutes of the film features different locations (some famous, some not) of the city of Paris, and which appear to be sequentially displayed from sunrise to sunset.  It is as if he is trying to show the audience the grace and beauty of Paris all in a brief day before we really delve into the heart of the story.  It is very similar to the opening of Allen's Manhattan, although it doesn't come close to the beauty of that opening sequence, with black and white shots of New York City as Gershwin plays "Rhapsody in Blue".  Very few opening sequences in the history of movies do.

One thing that does help to make the film easier to watch is having some knowledge of famous artists, musicians, and writers during the 1920s, specifically those that perused the streets of Paris.  Notable figures to make appearances during the movie include Gertrude Stein, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Ernest Hemingway.

Some of the most memorable moments in the movie are when Hemingway, acted perfectly by Corey Stoll, is behaving exactly the way one would expect Hemingway to behave (and then some).   One minute, he is talking about the honor and horrors of war, and proclaiming the immortality a man feels when "you are making love to a woman of true greatness".  The next minute, he is taking a swig of booze and yelling "who wants to fight?"  In arguably the funniest scene of the film, Adrian Brody does a masterful job of portraying the odd but passionate Salvador Dali, as he obsesses over the majestic nature (and mating habits) of rhinoceroses. 

There is also the love story that Owen Wilson's character, Gil, has in the movie.  He has a fiance (played by Rachel McAdams) who, while she loves Gil, does not really seem to feel that his romantic aspirations to be a serious novelist (rather than the marginal screen writer actually he is) will really pan out.  Then, once Gil starts magically going back to the past of the 1920s late night Paris, he meets Adriana (played by the stunning and incomparable Marion Cotillard).  Adriana is the mistress of Pablo Picasso when Gil first meets her, and a girl who probably never existed to begin with (unlike so many of the other characters in the film).  They soon fall for each other, and Gil is left with a dilemma. Should he be with his fiance, who he has clear disagreements with over what the future holds for the two of them? Or, should he be with Adriana, who he has quickly fallen in love with, but only exists when the clock strikes midnight in Paris, and then only for a few hours afterwards?

Some might feel less sympathetic towards Gil based upon the behavior he displays during his flirtations.  Besides falling in love with another woman, there is a scene in the movie where Gil attempts to obtain a present for Adrianna by stealing a pair of his fiance's earrings.  Despicable as that is, Gil's character is no less an example that exists in many romantic comedies where the protagonist's heart is torn between two loves (although that won't stop some from seeing Gil as a lying pig and a bastard). 

Without giving anything away, the film's ending is very anti-climactic, which might displease the casual movie-goer.  But as I mentioned earlier, this film is not necessarily for the casual, movie-goer.  The journey that Gil has during the film is so pleasant and unique, that one is not so concerned that there isn't more of an ending to the film than there is.

And also without really giving anything away, Allen seems to suggest that nostalgia and reliving a "golden time" in history may seem fun for a while.  However, there is never really a "golden time" that has existed, or will exist, especially when you ask those who actually lived through it.  The year 2011 in America might seem like a tough time now to many who live in it.  But who isn't to say that 20, 50, 100 years from now, others won't look upon our time as "golden" for one reason or another.  As the pretentious and snobby Paul (played by Michael Sheen) says at one point in the film:

Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.

Oh, and how does Gil travel back to 1920s Paris? Who cares?  Just enjoy the movie.