Midnight in Paris (2011)
I feel the need to preface this review by saying that before I watched this movie I had plenty of debate on even including this film in this series due to it being directed by Woody Allen. This director does produce some amazing work but that is no reason to look past who he is as a person. He is a terrible human who should be judged and hurt by his actions and I want to make it clear that by praising this movie and including it in this series I am in no way trying to condone or look past the conversation surrounding his actions and hope that if you have not already you look into his past. With that said the rest of this review will be focusing on this film outside of that context and will solely be focusing on Woody Allen from the point of view as a director in the context of this film. Midnight in Paris follows Gil (Owen Wilson) who is a screenwriter who is on vacation in Paris with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams). He is feeling pressure in both his relationship and career and hope that Paris will inspire him and give him some direction. One night he is strolling around the city when a mysterious car pulls up and the people inside invite him to a party, he obliges and quickly finds himself in the 1920s surrounded by people he has admired all his life like F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll). Where this speaks to him and gives him new life as a writer his inability to connect with Inez only grows stronger.
There is no point in lying, one of the things I was most apprehensive about going into this movie was Owen Wilson. It's not that I hate Owen Wilson but at this point, he had done nothing to really impress me so to hear that he was going to be the lead in this film had me apprehensive. Yet after seeing the movie I honestly don't know if anyone would have been able to give the performance that he ended up giving. He has this really wonderful ability to be the lead yet go with the flow of those who he shares the scene with if that makes sense. He goes with the flow and energy of those around him with issues taking control of a situation which I mean in a good way. Especially when communicating with Rachel McAdams it is this quality of him that makes the relationship work to the degree that it does. He also is really strong as seeming in awe of a situation while still being able to interact with it which works well as he travels in time and meets his heroes. It's not a flashy performance sure, but it is effective and it is exactly what this movie needs. The rest of the side cast especially once we time travel is tons of fun also playing into the cliches of their characters but never going so over the top that it feels campy. I especially loved Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway probably just because the character is so much fun with his brashness.
The concept is also just fun and clever, using this type of plot to explore the meaning of being a creator and how we view our own work is a really good idea. They don't fall into a lot of cliches or get lost trying to explain the specifics of how this works. They are able to stay on task of using this as a tool to explore deeper concepts and ideas which is the right move. It also leads to a pretty decent moral, sure it is a bit smaller as far as who it will affect considering not everyone has the same desire to live in a different time period like Gil but it still does come off as clever and strong enough. Moving on from the actual time travel dynamic in this movie I will also say they do a lot with the setting of Paris, Gil has this huge love of Paris as a city and they are able to transfer the magic that he feels from this city strongly to the audience. It really is beautiful and does seem like a place filled with emotion and power just like how they want it to.
The concept is also just fun and clever, using this type of plot to explore the meaning of being a creator and how we view our own work is a really good idea. They don't fall into a lot of cliches or get lost trying to explain the specifics of how this works. They are able to stay on task of using this as a tool to explore deeper concepts and ideas which is the right move. It also leads to a pretty decent moral, sure it is a bit smaller as far as who it will affect considering not everyone has the same desire to live in a different time period like Gil but it still does come off as clever and strong enough. Moving on from the actual time travel dynamic in this movie I will also say they do a lot with the setting of Paris, Gil has this huge love of Paris as a city and they are able to transfer the magic that he feels from this city strongly to the audience. It really is beautiful and does seem like a place filled with emotion and power just like how they want it to.
My main issue with the film would be the relationship between Gil and Inez, where their performances are doing everything they can with what they are given I don't think this side of the film is handled that well. First, it does feel unneeded that doesn't add that much, the focus of this film and the thesis it builds doesn't have to do with them so the reason they treat it like a main plotline is a bit questionable. I also think the relationship doesn't really work, similar to my thoughts on the relationship in Midsommar, we never see the good of this relationship so it is hard to understand the complications and layers of it. We come into this relationship when it is already falling apart which I feel like is a mistake. I wish we got more of the loving relationship between them so we can understand why it is so hard for him to leave her, going off of what we see it makes no sense why they are together as they clearly are not compatible.
Overall though I do like Midnight in Paris quite a bit, the concept is clever and impactful enough to where this film did have an impact on me. The setting is absolutely wonderful and the acting is all really solid. There are small things like the relationship that does hold the film back a bit but in the end, I would say Midnight in Paris left me much more positive than negative and would suggest that you check this film out especially if you are a writer who can relate to Gil to at least a certain point.
Overall though I do like Midnight in Paris quite a bit, the concept is clever and impactful enough to where this film did have an impact on me. The setting is absolutely wonderful and the acting is all really solid. There are small things like the relationship that does hold the film back a bit but in the end, I would say Midnight in Paris left me much more positive than negative and would suggest that you check this film out especially if you are a writer who can relate to Gil to at least a certain point.