Midnight In Paris

Midnight in Paris (2011)
Directed by Woody Allen. Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, and more.

It's rare to find a movie so good that you walk out of the theater grinning ear-to-ear. Sure, there are movies that are "good" - aka award winning, or "good" - aka Summer Blockbuster so explosive that they burn up the box office, or "good" - well-made, plotted, acted, etc. But there's another class of good, which Midnight in Paris is in, that's magical, that's purely enjoyable. This is a film that's creative, funny, beautifully shot, filled with expert performances, meaningful, thoughtful... It's a true gem and a crowd-pleaser, so right off the bat, I recommend that you see it.

Midnight in Paris may be Woody Allen's gazillionth film, and sure, a lot of people have complaints about his recent work... but really, this movie just goes to show the extent to which Allen is a master of his craft. He's a true auteur, writing and directing stories with such a clear touch that you could be plopped down halfway through the movie, and quickly identify it as an Allen work. There aren't many of these types of directors nowadays -- at least, not many that haven't become Spielburgs and Lucases, plopping their name on any big budget epic space film or franchise. Allen's work remains quiet, simple, yet elegant.

From the opening shots of this film, I was in love. The credits begin with soft swooning music, and a series of five or ten second shots of various locales -- captured moments, moving photographs, really -- in Paris. Many of them are mundane, as if Allen plopped his camera down, found an interesting composition, and waited to see what he found. Scenes flit by at a refreshingly slow pace (compared to today's wild music video -style editing)... like a jogger in an outdoor park, or a crowd of people opening umbrellas as it begins to rain. The Eiffel Tower makes an appearance, as does the Lourve, but really, they are presented as merely small parts of the magical world that is Paris, France. Indeed, Allen, and in his stead (since he does not act in this film), star Owen Wilson spend the film waxing romantically and nostalgically about Paris... Paris in the rain, Paris in the 1920s, Paris at midnight...

[This paragraph, and only this paragraph contains mild spoilers... The main narrative device is not given away in the trailer, and I recommend staying ignorant about the plot if at all possible before you see it. But if you really want to know, don't say I didn't warn you:] The plot revolves around a simple narrative conceit: Wilson, so in love with the idea of Paris in the 1920s, finds himself there one evening after a nighttime (and slightly drunken) walk through the city. What follows is like a game where someone asks you, "You're having a dinner party, and you could invite 5 famous people... who would they be?" F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter all make appearances -- and that's just the first scene. The best part of the film is wondering who's lurking around the next corner for Wilson to bump into, and a surprisingly large series of well-known actors make appearances as various figures from the past. The beauty of all this is that Allen never explains how, why, if it's real, a dream, etc. And that's just fine with me. It's better to not know, and be carried away by the illusion of the past. Too often, we remain in a framework where everything has to be explained. So, for just this once, let it carry you away. The film is like a daydream for history buffs (particularly literary history), and you may miss some of the jokes if you don't know who's who.

Though I would not have pegged him as a suitable actor for the film, Wilson is SUPERB as a Woody Allen stand-in. In a lot of ways, he doesn't just play his character, but he plays Allen. It's amazing the extent to which he masters Allen's awkward way of dryly umming through a scene (particularly when a beautiful woman is involved). Though Allen will be returning to the screen in his next film (The Bop Decameron, due to be filmed in Rome for a 2012 release), he found an amazingly suitable replacement for himself here. Wilson brings the character to life as Allen would have, and in doing so, makes the whole film work. 

The film is funny in SO many ways. Little one-liners come at you too fast to remember, but long enough to glance over at your viewing companions, silently asking through your laughter, "did he really just say that?" Situational humor is bolstered by the presence of the many historical figures. The humor fits into so many genres -- Romantic Comedy type situations arise between Wilson and his girlfriend, played by Rachel McAdams. Classic Woody Allen absurdities find their way in, as would be expected.

Overall, what really pushed this over the edge from good to great (and right now, my opinions is hovering around "OMG I want to see it again") is the meaning that's buried beneath the humor, the story, and the characters. Allen is dealing with big ideas here... nostalgia and memory, the passage of time, the value of love and partnership, the meaning of life, the prospect of death. He doesn't hold back when it comes to wrestling with these concepts, but he doesn't drag the film down with them. He manages to keep it light, and in doing so, presents a rather hopeful (rare for Allen, in my opinion) vision of the world.

As I've done in the past, I want to bring in the great Roger Ebert's review of this film, which I recommend reading, and give him the final word:

This is Woody Allen's 41st film. He writes his films himself, and directs them with wit and grace. I consider him a treasure of the cinema. Some people take him for granted, although Midnight in Paris reported charmed even the jaded veterans of the Cannes press screenings. There is nothing to dislike about it. Either you connect with it or not. I'm wearying of movies that are for "everybody" -- which means, nobody in particular. Midnight in Paris is for me, in particular, and that's just fine with moi.