Midnight In Paris


Woody Allen proves the doubters wrong in this entertaining ode to Paris. It may well be as idealised as his visions of London, but this time he has a fantastic script and great performances to make up for any shortcomings. 

The hype...
Having opened this year's Cannes Film Festival, 'Midnight In Paris' is seen by many as the best film Allen has made in years. As usual there is an all-star cast for him to play with, and much has been made of the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy performance, so we can't wait to cast our critical eye over the film in general and her in particular.

The story...
Gil (Owen Wilson) is a young writer desperate to experience the romantic vision of Paris that he has built up in his mind. He is delighted to finally be in the city with his fiancée (Rachel McAdams), but she is less enthused, and finds herself preferring to listen to the pretentious prattling of Paul (Michael Sheen).

On one particular night, Paul finds himself on his own. He takes a midnight stroll and finds a whole new world opening up before him. The experience gives him a fertile source of inspiration for his latest book, but his personal relationships begin to fall apart.

Will these late night walks make or break Paul, and will anyone ever believe him anyway?

The breakdown...

You may notice the slightly vague nature of the outline above, but we have good reason for it: there is something of a twist that happens early on. We'll be discussing part of it below, to fully get under the skin of the movie, so if you want to go into the film 'unspoiled', skip to the verdict.

The film hinges on what happens when Wilson heads off on his late-night jaunts into the city. He is whisked away to 1920's Paris and subsequently meets some of the most influential artists of the era in an increasingly bizarre series of encounters. On one of these occasions, Gil meets Adrianna (Marion Cotillard), whom he believes is his soul mate.

What Allen has done is set up a deliciously entertaining film up to deliver a simple message, 'the grass isn't always greener on the other side'.

You might think that this overly-familiar morality tale would lack any excitement, but thanks to a series of great performances and wonderfully clever cameos, the story sparks into life at regular intervals.

Wilson is great as another incarnation of the director, with the neurotic nature of the filmmaker being kept to a minimum, thus allowing the actor to inject some personality to the role.

Cotillard is at her alluring best, perfectly cast as a muse who is as irresistible as she is unattainable.

The only 'stunt' casting is Bruni and she is fine, if a little stilted, in a relatively small role. Thankfully the genuine star power of some of the other characters in the film is enough to forget any of her input.

Having started off with New York and then moved onto London, Allen now gives Paris his full attention. And what becomes abundantly clear is that his vision is a shared vision we all share, this is how we want the French capital to be. The great thing this time is that this is also the central thrust of the film, the perception we have of a time and place and how we can fall in love with an idea rather than the reality.

The verdict...
Woody Allen will probably never recapture the magic of his earlier films, so it's a relief that he has stopped trying so hard and instead decided to offer up something altogether more fun. Whimsical, in the best possible sense of the word.

Rating: 4/5

'Midnight In Paris' is due to be released in the UK on 7 October. Certificate: 12A.