Midnight in Paris

A commercial for Paris. The Paris of dreamers and incorrigible romantics; so the absolute opposite of the real Paris. But so what? Woody manages to intoxicate us with the almost melancholic atmosphere of the “city of love" so much that it gets you wanting to go there... And add to this the outstanding Owen Wilson (who gives a better performance of Woody than Woody himself), the again cute (and again in a completely different way) Marion Cotillard, all the scenes with the big names of surrealism “rhino-Buñuel-Dalí-Man Ray-rhino", the playfulness (that’s right, Allen steals from himself; and so what?) and the overall relaxed atmosphere showing that “we all had a great time" which comes across wonderfully to the viewer. Which doesn’t always necessarily happen. (09/27/2011)

Woody Allen is fantastic at staging dialogue passages that demand a lot from the actors, but when it works out, it's beautiful. The actors for this project were brilliantly chosen and the film is flawless in its formal style. Owen Wilson's Gill is perfect as a torn artist who is smarter in his mind than in spoken words, the superficial characters are detailed and iconic, just like Hermes Birkin, playing a supporting role, and the "golden age characters" are timeless and warming, supported by excellently fitting sets and period music. The outcome is not as cathartic as most of the audience would probably want, but I think Woody is just playing and teasing with the viewer in this case, there was no deeper intention here, Paris is enchanting even in this rendition. Perhaps slightly self-indulgent and unnecessary, but a refined and formally grandiose film that is intelligent enough to be liked. (01/27/2013)

Allen doesn’t disappoint. With considerable help from a traditionally excellent cast, and with his most intelligent script in years, he delivers a brilliant and charming advertisement for magical Paris that trumps almost all of his New York ballads in one fell swoop. Time travel has perhaps never been so tastefully entertaining on film, and there's certainly no other work that will make you want to know everything about all those legendary artists, from Hemingway to filmmaker Buñuel. Wilson is permanently likeable, McAdams unfortunately plays second fiddle, but she’s supplemented with grace by the irresistibly adorable Cotillard. Maybe when I can see the beauty of Paris myself, I’ll give it 5*. (11/29/2015)

Woody Allen is a magician. As a lover of Paris and an admirer of times past, I got lost somewhere between the opening titles and the first dialogue. Not that I expected anything else after a discreet whisper announcing a minor masterpiece, but the dreamy atmosphere, the sexy Marion Cotillard, and Owen Wilson made in the image of a young Allen? This is how to take the breath away from your devoted fans. Manhattan at last has an equally fascinating sequel after more than thirty years. (10/10/2011)

As Woody Allen sees it, walking and lounging around in Paris is mainly a pleasant experience. Fortunately without unbearable sweetness and with a willingness to admit that the appealing genre veneer merely provides refuge for a sabre-toothed bitch called life. A declaration of love for the former intellectual and artistic heart of Europe, Midnight in Paris begins with a picture-postcard prologue that inspires comparisons to Manhattan, which of course was filmed at a time when Allen’s jokes were more polished and the conclusions he arrived at were more sceptical. Together, the two films are able to make you take this idealised portrait of the big city as your own and, particularly in this case, declare “Paris, je t'aime“ after the closing credits have rolled. Owen Wilson “became” Allen unexpectedly smoothly; in line with the comedic potential of his face, he toned down the intellectualism and added some – reasonably subdued – grimaces. Unlike flowing romantic comedies, Midnight in Paris is more deliberate and restrained in terms of style (the actors walk nicely in long shots), only reinforcing my fears that Allen has either definitively given up on trying to make a more ambitious film with more layers of meaning and a more sophisticated narrative or he has simply run out of themes that could be developed beyond a pleasant anecdote. 80% Appendix: I most enjoyed the encounter with the surrealists (the charmingly excited Brody) and the affirmation that it took Buňuel just as long to digest the initial situation of The Exterminating Angel (roughly 30 years) as it will take an unprepared viewer to understand its satire. (09/29/2011)