"Midnight In Paris" - Another Woody Allen Classic

Written by Jared
“I'm having an insight now. It's a minor one...”

Woody Allen may be 76 but that doesn’t deter him from continuing his film career. With thirty-four films under his belt(not counting the films he didn’t direct but acted in), his films span six decades including the Best Picture Winner “Annie Hall”. Today, Woody Allen continues his streak with 2011’s “Midnight in Paris” as he delves into the gorgeous city of Paris and teaches us something about perspective and art.

Played by Owen Wilson, Gil is a screenwriter/author visiting Paris with his fiancé, Inez (Rachel McAdams) who is an uptight-rich woman who likes to shop. Gil is immediately obsessed with Paris and plays with the idea of living there. Gil imagines the city drenched in rain and back in the 1920’s where all of his idolized writers/artists lived and states that this might be “magical and…the hottest spot in the universe”. Inez hates the idea and quickly puts an end to his ideas.  Later that night as Gil walks home after leaving Inez to party with her friends, an old car drives down the street and the people inside beg Gil to join them. During the car ride Gil is transported back to the 1920’s where he runs into Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (one of his literary heroes). The Fitzgeralds then introduce him to Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, and many others. Captivated by the experience, Gil sort of loses touch with reality of the present day as every night at midnight he gets transported back.

 “Midnight in Paris” starts off with beautiful shots of different parts of the city of Paris.  Throughout the movie, the viewer is shown gorgeous views of the city, buildings, and people. This, in combination with Gil’s obsession and descriptions of Paris, is enough to make one want to go just to see the beauty.

The writing in “Midnight in Paris” is exceptional. Written in the classic Woody Allen style, the dialog is good enough to get lost in enjoyment. Owen Wilson plays the part of Gil perfectly, delivering the lines just as if Woody Allen himself were giving them. “Midnight in Paris” is also host to many great characters. All of the 1920’s artists are very well written and in particular, Ernest Hemingway is incredibly fun to watch. The more references to the artists the viewer understands, the better the experience but that does not mean at all that someone who has no idea who any of these people are would not enjoy it. “Midnight in Paris” is enjoyable for all viewers.

In addition to the characters and dialog, the message is simple and powerful. Sometimes we look back and think all the great artists lived backed way when. All of the amazing songs and films were made years ago and not much is happening today but in reality, this is not true. In fact the film “Midnight in Paris” proves it wrong and demonstrates that great films are still being made today.






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