Nearly fifty years in the making, Woody Allen’s latest movie MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (M) is a masterpiece of style, substance and soul.
The film begins as an echo of an earlier masterpiece, MANHATTEN, as we are treated to a marvellous montage of Paris – seasons, streetscapes, landmarks. It is a beautifully sustained pictorial poem to the city, and you don’t want it to end.
When it inevitably does, we are introduced to Gil played by Owen Wilson, in arguably his best screen role ever. Gil is the Woody Allen avatar, a successful American screenwriter yearning to switch the Hollywood Studios for a spot by the Seine where he can write novels of substance rather than silly screenplays.
He is in Paris with his fiancée, Inez, played by Rachel McAdams and her parents on a pre nuptial shopping spree.
Seeds of serious doubt are sewn about the impending marriage when it’s clear that Inez is as avaricious and status seeking as her Republican parents.
On a solo stroll through the streets of Paris, the conflicted, confused and lost Gill accepts a ride in an old automobile at the stroke of midnight we are thrown into a scenario that has its roots in a stand-up routine created by Mr. Allen a half century ago.
It was vintage then, but with maturation, the stupendous stand-up of The Lost Generation morphs into the sensational cinema of MIDNIGHT IN PARIS. It’s like a stunning cygnet has grown into a superb swan.
Its closest cinematic sibling in the Woody Allen canon would be THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, but there are antecedents galore with the jazz score and splendid ensemble cast that includes Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard and Michael Sheen.
Director of photography, Darius Khondi, lavishes his lens on the lovely exteriors and the lush interiors, the product of art director Anne Seibel, while costume designer Sonia Grande does a, well, grand job.
Funny, astute, and ultimately uplifting, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is A- grade Woody Allen, which looks good, sounds good and feels good. For me, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is the “feelgood” movie of the year.
(c) Richard Cotter
15th October, 2011
Tags: Woody Allen, Paris, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams,Lea Seydoux, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Darius Khondi, Anne Seibel,
