Midnight in Paris (2011)
Midnight in Paris Plot Summary:
Romance lives in Paris, so there can't be the better setting for such a lovely movie as Midnight in Paris. If there was a demand to describe this film in one word, I would say it's atmospheric! The reason is, there is hardly a movie with such a veil of mystery unfolding only after midnight, when Paris delicately swims in lights and growing passion.
Gil (Owen Wilson) is distracted by struggling to start his first novel. In hunting for the inspiration he goes to Paris together with his wife Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy), people of old school. While Gil is badly trying to grab for the idea for his probably-successful novel, his wife prefers to spend time in quite a different way. Once lost in a night city, Gil is transported from 2010 to the 1920s, where he meets Cole Porter (Yves Heck), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and many other representatives of the Lost Generation, the very one Gil admires most of all. Now this becomes his habbit to walk around Paris at night, when there is nothing except mystery and unexpectedness. It's not surprising that people don't believe Gil, rather find him odd. With his wife not supporting him, Gil if gradually falling in love with Adriana (Marion Cottilard), Pablo Picasso's mistress. Probably this was their feeling that opened the door to another historical period, transporting them back to the Belle Epoque, the time Adriana considers to be the greatest era. But Gil has to get back to his life in the twenty-first century, where he will have to face tough reality.
If you have little knowledge about the times when one of the greatest artists and writers were struggling hard to seek for the recognition, then this movie will give you an idea about that part of history. You will face strange Picasso, as strange as his pictures; affable yet exigent Gertrude Stein, depressive Hemingway and arrogant Fitzgerald. The traits are very neatly displayed, giving even such a light romantic movie a tone of intelligence. And the atmosphere is awesome! This is exactly the peculiarity of Midnight in Paris romance that makes you feel the movie rather than watch it in a detached way.
Owen Wilson makes you love Paris, as he is perfect in infecting you with his own passion for it. It seems he is not playing Gil but Woody Allen himself, so engrossed in his own thought and ideas. He is a queer fish, not matching his practical, impatient wife, amazing Rachel McAdams. It was nice to see them working together again. Unexpectedly, but these is an old couple responsible for funniest moments here. The supporting actors, especially those from the past, are a bit callous and stock, but they are not indent to spoil the impression of the whole movie.
The plot is actually a weak point. Yes, it is interesting, sometimes provoking but at times it is predictable. Surely, it was not Allen's goal to keep you at the edge, because it's not his style, but it might have been more involving, with at least some unexpected swifts. However, judging from movie's hight rating and a number of reviews, these flaws are insignificant, letting you fully enjoy the movie.
