Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates
100 Min./ Spain/USA
Woody Allen is an interesting filmmaker. Almost every year he makes a new movie. Every time it’s the question again, will it be a great film. His work is often very good, but he also has released quite a lot mediocre movies. Yet I must admit that over the past few years he made quite a few nice movies. So in 2005 there was ‘Match Point’ and in 2008 ‘Vicky Christina Barcelona’, for which Penelope Cruz won an Oscar.
Paris is the city of love, everyone knows that. You would expect a romantic comedy, but it’s not really … I would say that Gil, the main character declares his love to the city of art, Paris.
Gil is a Hollywood screenwriter. He dreams of releasing his own novel. He and his fiancee Inez and her wealthy parents are on holiday in Paris. On his arrival Gil immediately admires the beauty of the city. He seems to have completely lost interest in Inez.
During a night walk a vintage Peugeot Taxi with party people stops next to him. They invite him to join in the festivities. To his surprise, this ride takes him back in time and he gets to meet his heroes. He is at a party, where he meets Ernest Hemingway and Cole Porter. In the morning he wakes up back in the reality of everyday life. He decides the next day to take another night walk to the same point where he got picked up. We see a number of meetings with artists who took inspiration from the city of Paris, like Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí.
Through these meetings Gil knows that he has to re-evaluate his current relationship. Is Inez the love of his life.
Midnight in Paris is a wonderful ode to the ‘City of Light’. It shows the beauty by which so many artists were influenced. It’s a wonderful surreal tale in which we become a bit acquainted with so many great artists of the past. Owen Wilson shines in his role as Gil. He will not earn Oscar, but this role fits him like a glove.
8/10
By: ~Sieto Kooijker
Trailer:
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