Midnight In Paris

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: May 20th, 2011 (NY/LA)

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni 

Directed by: Woody Allen 

Premise: A family, including a young couple, travels to Paris, France for business and have their lives transformed.

[New Feeling]

looks like this is a hit at Cannes.  both the Variety and Hollywood Reporter reviews are very positive.

[cronopio 2]

yeah. it's kind of a downer they're letting 13 year old girls design movie posters nowadays.

[modage]

It's not great. But I loved watching it. (Full disclosure: I'm dying to go to Paris.)

from my blog:

"A Woody Allen Film" doesn't mean what it used to. Releasing a film a year, every year, you're bound to get some hits and misses, in the last decade the filmmaker's output has been more erratic than ever. "Anything Else" and "Whatever Works" are among his worst films ever, while "Match Point" stands as a career highlight. Because of this unpredictability, it wasn't until it's recent premiere at Cannes that "Midnight In Paris" really jumped onto my radar. Reviews were glowing but it was hard to tell if the film was actually that good or if critics were just excited that it was better than some of his recent duds. It turns out it's a bit of both, but it's such a joy to watch, you can't fault it for not standing up to his best work (or even borrowing bits from his better films).

Owen Wilson stands in for Allen as Gil, an LA screenwriter who dreams of living in Paris  and finishing his novel. Rachel McAdams is his uptight fiancee Inez and Michael Sheen embodies the pseudo-intellectual a-hole that serves as a counterpoint to Wilson's romantic artist. Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates and Tom Hiddleston round out a delightful supporting cast. Wilson's laid back charm proves a great fit for Allen's films, as usually the lead actor is forced into copying his mannerisms, Wilson brings a completely different feeling to the film and it's one of his best roles in years. Without spoiling exactly what happens, Gil romanticizes life in another era, specifically Paris in the 20's and the film takes a roundabout way of showing him that it's best just to be present. This point is hammered home a little too strongly, when the suggestion might have done, a speech is given, but it doesn't detract from the overall experience.

The film is breezy fun, a complete fantasy, with every aspect of Paris completely idealized for the audience as it is for Gil. (When you leave the theatre, your first thought will be to go there at once.) The story is ridiculous the more you think about it, but in the moment you're along for the ride. Half the fun is watching Wilson make his way through Allen's fantasy, while the other half is just admiring how gorgeous Paris looks and I think that's kind of the point. It's a strong antidote to some of the directors darker efforts and one of his most enjoyable films of the last decade. Best to enjoy it while it lasts because there will be another one next year.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

On the one hand it's a Woody Allen film with the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway, Juan Belmonte, Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates!?), Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody!?), barely some Luis Buñuel, &c. personalities from Paris in the 1920s.  On the other hand all these personalities are filtered through Woody Allen.  Hemingway's serious, seriously goofy.  An example of an in-joke:  Owen Wilson's Gil suggests the Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie concept to Buñuel.  One reason Allen's great as a popular entertainer is because he knows how to flatter your tastes.

The movie is a lot of fun and very warm.  I don't know for sure why people shouted out the names of characters as they appeared, but I believe anytime a movie makes the audience shout at the screen it's a good thing.  I'd prefer the wild ride of Sweet and Lowdown or the escapist fantasy of Purple Rose of Cairo, and this ranks for me around Alice, but a problem with Allen is always this game of comparison.  This movie could age really well, and I know each time I'd return to it the experience would be pleasurable.

[pete]

re: woody allen flattering your taste: I actually think the opposite. I think he's so gifted as a comedian that he can make jokes about very specific references (or the case of this movie, pretty broad references) and make you laugh just through his delivery. I went with a guy who didn't have much education and was raised in da hood and he laughed at things all the same too just because the jokes played off like jokes. and I remember having the same reaction when I first started watching his films at a younger age before I had comfortable command of the language. I was making a similar remark about malick in the tree of life thread - good storytellers have a way of using very specific details and references and make them feel recognizable, and that was how I felt about woody allen's characters - I actually don't know anything about fitzgerald and his lady, but the film made me feel like I did.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

Well, aren't you saying he doesn't only flatter your tastes?  He's a gifted writer and as such reaches beyond the purely referential, and he's a structuralist so his scenes and humor have a kind of melody to follow along with.  The guy you brought with you to the movie and the young Pete strike me as bad examples exactly because they don't share Woody Allen's tastes.

I cite as an example the people yelling out names in my theater.  They were overjoyed to see historically important artistic figures they could recognize.  Some characters, like T.S. Eliot, appear for applause and then vanish.  Manhattan Murder Mystery is filled with a lot of this as well, as another example, including the Vertigo and Lady from Shanghai moments.  You can love the end of Manhattan Murder Mystery whether you know Lady from Shanghai or not, but if you know the movie it changes your love, it borrows from your love for Lady from Shanghai.  The audience, then, feels rewarded.  And flattered.

[SiliasRuby]

its not every day that I fall in love with a romantic comedy. I did that with 'midnight in paris'. my heart broke just looking at every scene and I sighed filled with the ultimate sadness that this movie was going to end at some point. Every few years woody allen hits it out of the park and we're reminded of his genius. This is that film.

[Alexandro]

I feel a little lonely because I didn't like this film that much. Not that I disliked it, but I'm baffled by the love.
I guess I've seen too many Woody Allen movies. Loved the initial sequence though.

[Bethie]

Can't believe he took credit for The Exterminating Angel! I'm convinced Woody Allen has been wondering his whole life, "how can I take credit for a Bunuel film?" 


adored the hell out of this film. I even went out after wards and bought a couple dresses that Marion Cotillard's character would have worn.