Midnight in Paris Review
By: Joshua “ Nostalgia is denial. Denial of the painful present” Richey
There are those that are quick to dismiss Woody Allen films based purely off the fact that they’re Woody Allen films. I can see that, I suppose. Allen has always had a unique approach to filmmaking that you either appreciate or that just isn’t for you. I’d say that it’s a very shallow way to judge a film, but with that being said I do the same thing in regards to Vin Diesel movies. But for those that say that Woody Allen is out of touch with this generations moviegoers and continue to disregard his work, you’re going to miss one hell of a film in Midnight in Paris.
Gil (Owen Wilson) is an unhappy yet successful screenwriter in Hollywood. Looking for a change of pace, Gil and his wife, Inez (Rachel McAdams), visit Paris so that Gil can draw inspiration for his novel. While Gil is trying to get his wife to take an interest in the appeal that is Paris in the 1920’s, Inez instead takes an interest in Paul (Michael Sheen), a know it all former flame. While Inez is out dancing the night away with Paul and his wife, Gil walks the streets of Paris alone. After getting lost one evening in the empty streets, Gil discovers that at midnight a mysterious car arrives with the ability to travel him back in time to Paris in the 1920’s, where Gil is able to converse and socialize with his literary heroes such as Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and Cole Porter.
Perhaps the single most impressive thing that Woody Allen has done here with Midnight in Paris is that he’s taken a subject that not a whole lot of people would have an interest in (art and literature from the 1920’s) and he’s made a film about it that nearly everyone will enjoy. I watched this film with my girlfriend, who is a huge art nerd. Throughout the film, when Gil would meet another one of his heroes, I could sense the excitement that my girlfriend would get. Me, I had no idea who these people were. I wasn’t able to fully appreciate that moment when Gil meets Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. But you know what? After the movie was over, after we got up from our seats and disposed of our popcorn, the two of us were able to walk outside and glowingly tell each other how much we loved the film. The good ones can do that. That’s why Woody Allen is regarded as one of the best.
We give Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris 4 fully mounted rhinoceros out of 5.
