Midnight In Paris Review

Director: Woody Allen

Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Corey Stoll

Running time: 94 minutes

Certificate: 12A

Synopsis: A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.

When you sit down for a film by Woody Allen, you’re sure to be taken into his world of stuttering conversations and awkward social moments. His career has dipped a little of late but MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is certainly worth delving into.

There is no mistake this is set in Paris, the opening images flick through picture-perfect postcards of the French capital from dawn to dusk, or more aptly, it’s a subtle indication to where the film and the city will really come alive…at midnight. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is a nostalgic escape but not exactly as you expect it to be as we join Gil (Owen Wilson) and Inez (Rachel McAdams) on a short vacation.

Gil is a disillusioned Hollywood writer and keen to explore his true writing roots, he believes that walks in the rain and the culture capital will inspire and inject some passion into the novel he is trying to write.  Inez (Adams) likes the culture but doesn’t see the need for leaving America to explore something she doesn’t feel she needs to.

One night, Inez goes off dancing with friends they’ve bumped into – a wonderful turn from Michael Sheen as Paul, a pompous stereotypical American know-it-all on a culture kick – but Gil doesn’t want to go and instead gets lost on a walk home through Montmartre. He sits down, the midnight bells chime and a vintage Peugeot pulls up inviting him in. He’s coaxed in and before he knows it, Gil is talking and partying with the likes of Ernest Hemingway -who is intensely portrayed by Corey Stoll -, Cole Porter, Pablo Picasso and F Scott Fitzgerald, who are all Gil’s artistic idols.

As the next morning arrives, he’s back in the present day in his hotel and slightly perplexed, was it the alcohol? Did it all happen? Owen Wilson plays all this wonderfully. He appears to look content as an actor in this part, perfecting that balance between seeming uncomfortable yet wanting to explore and question life and everything around him.

Gradually, we begin to time-travel more frequently and he meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard) and she opens his eyes to who he is and he begins to question what he really wants in his life. As we drift between eras, we meet more icons including Gertrude Stein who is warmly acted by Kathy Bates and a really entertaining role by Adrien Brody as the surrealist Salvador Dali.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is a clever, unsuspecting tale that delves into the illusion of real life and how the imagination can sometimes be a better place to escape to. Furthermore, it is heartfelt, witty and intelligent escapism plus one of the best from Woody Allen in recent times.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is showing from October 7th in UK cinemas.