Midnight in Paris

Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kurt Fuller, Michael Sheen, Nina Ariando, Carla Bruni, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, Alison Pill, Adrien Brody, Corey Stoll, David Lowe
Directed by: Woody Allen
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A struggling writer (Owen Wilson) walks the streets of Paris at night and is magically transported back to the 1920s, where he meets a collection of his favorite writers and artists.

Review:

Tim: Midnight in Paris is a quintessential Woody Allen movie. That can be good or bad, depending on your point of view. I love the fantasy elements of the film, something not unfamiliar to Allen films. I thought the cast was mostly good, and the story is interesting. However, the greatest aspect of the film is that Allen captures that magical "what if"- What if you could travel back in time and meet your heroes? In this case, that's F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and others. I loved that aspect of the film. What would it be like to spend time with some of the true geniuses of the last 100 years? When Allen sticks to that aspect, this film is fantastic. When he moves away from that, I lost interest.

As I mentioned, the scenes in the 1920s were the highlight of the movie. Owen Wilson is at his finest when he's struggling to believe his extraordinary luck- he's getting writing tips from Gerturde Stein, learning about life from Ernest Hemingway, seeing complicated love from F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, and falling love with a beautiful woman who inspired Picasso. The idea is fantastic, and that aspect of the movie sucks you in.

The modern day scenes with Owen Wilson and his in-laws are less effective. I first want to talk about Wilson. Wilson gives one of the best performances of his career. However, there was one thing that prevented me from liking it as much as I should have. In this movie, Wilson is really just a proxy for Woody Allen. I'm glad Allen didn't cast himself in this film (I hate when he does that), but it feels like his wrote this part for himself, then cast Wilson in it. The character is far too familiar to many other Allen's played over the years. Wilson occasionally feels like he's channeling Allen, and I didn't like that aspect. I wish Allen would have written a protagonist who wasn't just like him. Still, Wilson is very good in the role.

I actually disliked Rachel McAdams quite a bit. Her character is detestable, but she made it so overly apparent. Some of this was Allen's writing and direction, but I felt like the character felt one-dimensional and obvious. There weren't any layers to her performance. Michael Sheen was good simply because he so emphatically embraces his unlikable role. Corey Stoll was terrific as Ernest Hemingway. I felt like he perfectly channeled the man. I loved his performance. I liked Alison Pill and Tom Hiddleston as the Fitzgeralds. Kathy Bates brought some good qualities to Gertrude Stein. Marion Cotillard was very good in her role. She still needs to work on her English, but she sparkled regardless. She worked very well with Wilson. Adrien Brody, though, felt pointless and silly.

I really liked the fantastical time travel in Midnight in Paris (although I didn't like where Allen took it). I get his point of every age dreaming the previous age was the golden age, instead of valuing the present. I get it mostly because Allen hits us over the head with it repeatedly. Still, the story is fun and occasionally magical. Unfortunately, the modern day scenes grind the film to a halt and prevented me from really caring about any of the contemporary characters- even Wilson. He had no backbone, and even at the climactic confrontational scene at the end, Allen has him slink out in an unsatisfying way. It's a move that he would have made- not the move that we wanted. Allen definitely missed some opportunities here.

While flawed, Midnight in Paris is still a good movie. It opens with a wordless four minute montage of various scenes from Paris. The whole movie felt like a love letter to this wonderful city, and I really liked that. Allen creates an interesting, memorable film here. I believe it could have been better, but it's definitely a good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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