Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris

2011

Maybe because Woody Allen makes so many movies, we tend to take him for granted. Averaging a new release every two years since (can you believe it) 1969, it’s like, “Oh, well, time for another Woody Allen movie.” Avid fans may be first in line no matter what the critical reviews, but the writer/director has only on occasion struck a chord with the movie going masses (most notably “Annie Hall”).

“Midnight in Paris” may not win the Academy Award for Best Picture,

à la “Annie Hall”, but it no less endearing and engrossing. The city of Paris as a location is a no-brainer. The charm of the City of Lights is awe-inspiring from the first to the last frame.

Now in his 70’s, Allen has relinquished his former role as frustrated protagonist to Owen Wilson, who manages to channel the author’s angst in a subtle and far less irritating way. Gil (Wilson) is a successful screenwriter who longs to write a novel and is at once captivated and mystified by Paris at midnight. Rachel McAdams (one of the more talented young actresses on the horizon) plays his fiancé occupied by the monetary frills the city has to offer.

Allen cleverly weaves Gil’s time travel of chance encounters with every wannabe novelist’s potential muses including literary giants, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In addition, Gil is charmed by Adriana (Marion Cotillard) who offers an enchanting perspective on another time and place.

Sometimes Americans overlook genius for no other reason than familiarity. But perusing the long list of movies penned and directed by Allen, credit must be given for such brilliant works as “Manhattan”, “Hannah and Her Sisters”, “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, “Annie Hall”, and more subtle, but no less brilliant works like “Broadway Danny Rose”, “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, “The Front”, and “Radio Days.”

“Midnight in Paris” can definitely be added to that list.