Have you ever wondered what it would be like to meet your idols? What would they think of you? What would you ask them? As an artist, would you be willing to share and have your work critiqued by them? This was one of the big “what ifs” explored in Woody Allen’s newest effort, Midnight in Paris. I don’t know if Allen is one of my idols, but he would certainly be an interesting person to talk with and share a glass of fine red wine with back in the 70’s. Would he approve of me critiquing his work? Should art be critiqued in the first place? I’m not sure if there is a correct answer to that, but I support art as an expression of self and nobody should be able to take that away from you. Based on the notions discussed in this movie, I’m sure he would agree with me on that.
Following two relative disappointments in Whatever Works (which I actually enjoyed) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Allen put his strongest foot forward and produced one of my favorite movies of 2011 so far. Midnight in Paris reminded me what I liked so much about his early relationship films like Manhattan and Annie Hall, but it also added this element of fantasy that was never very prevalent in his work. Owen Wilson plays Gil, a charming, younger version of the director himself (read this awesome article on Woody Allen characters on First Showing!) and rekindles the chemistry he had with Rachel McAdams in Wedding Crashers. The two are vacationing with her parents in Paris where Gil, a Hollywood writer struggling to write his first novel, becomes infatuated with the city. Each night he wanders the streets and ends up traveling back in time where he meets some of the legendary writers and artists of the 20th Century.
There are some great bits of acting in this film besides Wilson’s strong performance including the red-hot Tom Hiddleston (Thor, War Horse) and Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim, Milk) as the Fitzgerald’s, a hilarious imagining of Ernest Hemingway played by Corey Stoll (Lucky Number Slevin, Salt) and the always captivating Marion Cotillard as Wilson’s time-traveling love interest. The film moves fairly quickly and despite its dialogue driven nature it never seems to stand still. Similar to his love letter to the city that never sleeps, Manhattan, Midnight in Paris depicts the French city in a beautiful light and references it’s captivating attributes almost as if it were a character in the story itself.
One of my only complaints lies in its tendency to get lost in the fantastical element and forget the present. I love the idea of traveling back to another time, but it seems to have come at the expense of the story and relationships that are, or at least should be, the backbone of the story. The film features some grim commentary on the unsatisfying side of life but also discusses the role of the artist in a very eloquent way. Kathy Bates utters the line of the movie as Gertrude Stein when she says, “The artist’s job is not to succumb to despair, but to find an antidote to the emptiness of existence.” Allen is so spot-on with this notion, but despite it’s somewhat pessimistic view the film has a very positive and hopeful resolution that left me very satisfied. Midnight in Paris is certainly one of Allen’s best from recent years and if you are a fan of his I highly recommend checking it out.
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