Midnight In Paris (2011)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Well I have to disclaimer in that I am not really a fan of Woody Allen, nor have I been the biggest fan of Owen Wilson. His nasally way of acting like he is always on the perpetual verge of whining, I tend to find irritating.

That being said, this film was more enjoyable than I had ever imagined. I think in truth, it is the whimsical, unabashedly indulgent reality that is never questioned, that really won me over. Or perhaps it is my latent love for France (see French Kiss), hard to say. 

The premise is unique enough, and lo it sound spoilerish, it revolves around a wannabe writer, disillusioned with being a cog in the Hollywood machine, finding inspiration in Paris while on a trip with his overbearing fiancee. In what is the unconventional angle for finding inspiration, he begins his self-discovery via travelling back in time to 1920s Paris every midnight, but before you lose interest, this is not some science-fiction take. 

Instead Wilson's character Gil Pender, rubs shoulders with literary and artistic giants like Hemingway, Dali, Bunel, and many more.  It is through these travels that he learns a bit about writing, a lot about life, and even more about himself. 

It is really an enjoyable film and I grudgeonly liked Owen Wilson, despite still being the same type of character he generally is in most films.

I won't discuss much more about the plot, because while enjoyable, it is simple enough of a concept that the sparse details already provided are suffice to get a bearing on if this film may or may not be for you.

The Good: Owen Wilson, if only because this film felt like it was written exactly for him, and I hope that post-suicide attempt, he found the renewed love of life that his character did. Marion Cotillard, Carla Bruni, and the veritable who's who of Hollywood emulating icons of history were also enjoyable albeit all to briefly at times. Michael Sheen looking like a young Aidan Quinn was also enjoyable as a unforgiving douchebag. 

Also, all things french. I would never have guessed Woody Allen adored France so much, but this film reads like a love letter to France, and French history. 1920's Paris felt real and beautiful that you can understand wanting to get lost there.

The Bad: Rachel McAdams' character. I like Rachel McAdams as an actress, but her character was just unrelatable as a self-obsessed bitchy fiancee. If we were meant to be somewhat involved with her as a character it was way off mark. I doubt that is the case though, but when a character is purely 2 dimensional in terms of depth, it is never a strong point. 

Final Thoughts: I am glad I didn't write off this film as another one of Woody Allen's contrived pseudo-intellectual commentaries on society. There are definitely moments of Woody Allen-isms, that mark this film as still part of his auteur portfolio, but I am glad he remembered to tell a story this time through.

Add to the Vault? I feel so conflicted these days about wanting to buy movies. I don't know if it is because video stores have gone the way of the dodo, and the digital age makes physical copies nigh on irrelevant; or if my standards are just too darn high, but I don't think this one makes the cut. I know, i said I loved it, but I am content to have loved it and let it go. Maybe another time?

Here is the trailer, which really tells you nothing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atLg2wQQxvU&feature=youtube_gdata_player