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Paris is a city that lends itself to daydreaming, to walking the streets and imagining all sorts of magic, a quality that Woody Allen understands perfectly. Midnight in Paris is Allen's charming reverie about just that quality, with a screenwriter hero named Gil (Owen Wilson) who strolls the lanes of Paris with his head in the clouds and walks right into his own best fantasy. Gil is there with his materialistic fiancée (Rachel McAdams) and her unpleasant parents, taking a break from his financially rewarding but spiritually unfulfilling Hollywood career--and he can't stop thinking that all he wants to do is quit the movies, move to Paris, and write that novel he's been meaning to finish. You know, be like his heroes in the bohemian Paris of the 1920s. Sure enough, a midnight encounter draws him into the jazzy world of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Picasso and Dali, and an intense Ernest Hemingway, who promises to bring Gil's manuscript to Gertrude Stein for review. Gil wakes up every morning back in the real world, but returning to his enchanted Paris proves fairly easy. In the execution of this marvelous fantasia, Allen pursues the idea that people of every generation have always romanticized a previous age as golden (this is in fact explained to us by Michael Sheen's pedantic art expert), but he also honors Gil's need to find out certain truths for himself. The movie's on the side of gentle fantasy, and it has some literary/cinematic in-jokes that call back to the kind of goofy humor Allen created in Love and Death.The film is guilty of the slackness that Allen's latter-day directing has sometimes shown, and the underwritten roles for McAdams and Marion Cotillard are better acted than written. But the city glows with Allen's romantic sense of it, and Owen Wilson has just the right nice-guy melancholy to put the idea over. A worthy entry in the Cinema of the Daydream. --Robert Horton
Product Description
Even for people who have never been to Paris, the name of the city is more than a metaphor for magic. Certainly there’s no better place on earth that Woody Allen could have chosen for his critically-acclaimed romantic comedy featuring an all-star cast led by Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen and Marion Cotillard.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Have only just watched Midnight in Paris but feel moved to give a few impressions after a first viewing. There's an awful lot one could say about this movie, as in spite of its lightness and easy going charm there's a lot going on here. Firstly, I really enjoyed it and Owen Wilson was perfect in the lead role as the American abroad, slightly disaffected, sad, romantic, and yearning for something lost, yet deprecatingly funny and ironic. He's always been a wonderful comic actor with a natural and unforced subtlety, and here he plays the Woody cipher to great and touching effect. Allen's love of early jazz and his great clarinet hero Sidney Bechet gives the opening a wonderful lift-off to the exhilarating sound of genius against the images of the City of Light, an intoxicating blend of sound and vision. The dream sequence begins beautifully with Wilson 'lost' and slightly drunk at night in the city, with more than a hint of the washed up writer Joseph Cotten (The Third Man) about him. The magnificent vision of the 1920's Peugot sweeping up in front of him takes us into a 'Gatsbyesque' haut-monde of the expatriated Americans in Paris. Although the film doesn't have as many laughs as classic Allen, it is in these early dream scenes where Wilson gets to deliver his funniest lines. The joke about Djuna Barnes was just one wonderfully comic moment, and Wilson is so adept at Woody's style of humour.
The film does have some weaknesses; the director does tend to overpack his suitcase with perhaps a few too many literary and artistic characters (We really didn't need Gaugin and Degas as well), and there are too many unfeasibly good looking women abounding on screen.... Read more ›
The film does have some weaknesses; the director does tend to overpack his suitcase with perhaps a few too many literary and artistic characters (We really didn't need Gaugin and Degas as well), and there are too many unfeasibly good looking women abounding on screen.... Read more ›
25 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
When one lives in and loves a city with an ancient history, such as Paris or Rome, it becomes very easy to sense the existence of an imperceptible permeability between past and present. It is as if one only has to wait for the light to change a certain way, or for a bell to strike a certain hour, and the magic will happen--for those who are receptive to magic, that is, and are willing to believe in the Magic of Place.
This is the premise of Woody Allen's latest whimsical flight into the imaginative world of Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a self-acknowledged Hollywood screenwriting hack, who dreams of writing a novel, the protagonist of which owns a nostalgia shop. "What is a nostalgia shop?" asks one of Allen's characters. Anyone who has to ask such a question is assuredly immune to magic, and will probably not enjoy this film. Since I am a romantic and firmly believe in the Magic of Place, I enjoyed it immensely.
Woody Allen clearly loves Paris. His opening scenes, in fact, represent a paean to The City of Light, as for almost four minutes the camera, with an evocative jazz accompaniment, moves from point to point along the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens, Montmartre, the Champs Élysées, the Tuileries, the Left Bank, among other locations. We are treated to views of great boulevards, narrow streets, steep stairs, roofs with chimney pots, as the camera's eye glances at brasseries, cafes, fashion houses, fountains, the pyramid of the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Opera, and the Tour Eiffel. Paris in the sunshine; Paris in the rain. And all that is before the opening credits, in which we see that Allen, as usual, has assembled an ensemble cast. And for a special treat, the actual film begins among the lily ponds at Monet's Giverny.... Read more ›
This is the premise of Woody Allen's latest whimsical flight into the imaginative world of Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a self-acknowledged Hollywood screenwriting hack, who dreams of writing a novel, the protagonist of which owns a nostalgia shop. "What is a nostalgia shop?" asks one of Allen's characters. Anyone who has to ask such a question is assuredly immune to magic, and will probably not enjoy this film. Since I am a romantic and firmly believe in the Magic of Place, I enjoyed it immensely.
Woody Allen clearly loves Paris. His opening scenes, in fact, represent a paean to The City of Light, as for almost four minutes the camera, with an evocative jazz accompaniment, moves from point to point along the Seine, the Luxembourg Gardens, Montmartre, the Champs Élysées, the Tuileries, the Left Bank, among other locations. We are treated to views of great boulevards, narrow streets, steep stairs, roofs with chimney pots, as the camera's eye glances at brasseries, cafes, fashion houses, fountains, the pyramid of the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Opera, and the Tour Eiffel. Paris in the sunshine; Paris in the rain. And all that is before the opening credits, in which we see that Allen, as usual, has assembled an ensemble cast. And for a special treat, the actual film begins among the lily ponds at Monet's Giverny.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It's probably a bad thing when a film doesn't elicit strong feelings from you one way or another, but I found Midnight in Paris a fairly inoffensive, enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.
You probably know the plot already, but essentially Owen Wilson finds a way to time travel into 1920s Paris, allowing him to split time between his modern life (disappointing relationship, mother and father in law hate him, etc.) and the glitz and glamour of hanging out with Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and a horde of other cultural icons.
The time travel theme, like most time travel films, is used to make a broader point. While Owen Wilson starts off with the notion that 1920s Paris is more exciting than the 2010 version, he comes to the conclusion that there's no such thing as a "golden age" and recognises that every generation has fallen into the trap of idolising previous eras. Nostalgia, as one of the characters states, simply represents disappointment with the present. This isn't any great revelation - indeed at one point in the film Owen Wilson explicitly says it's a minor one - but a film with a simple message isn't necessarily a bad one.
There's no real dramatic tension in the film and the characters are almost intentionally superficial, but I don't see that as a great problem. I'm not sure that incredibly nuanced characters and relationships would have really been the best way to get the message across. If you take that on board it's enjoyable enough and I'd happily recommend it.
You probably know the plot already, but essentially Owen Wilson finds a way to time travel into 1920s Paris, allowing him to split time between his modern life (disappointing relationship, mother and father in law hate him, etc.) and the glitz and glamour of hanging out with Hemingway, Gertrude Stein and a horde of other cultural icons.
The time travel theme, like most time travel films, is used to make a broader point. While Owen Wilson starts off with the notion that 1920s Paris is more exciting than the 2010 version, he comes to the conclusion that there's no such thing as a "golden age" and recognises that every generation has fallen into the trap of idolising previous eras. Nostalgia, as one of the characters states, simply represents disappointment with the present. This isn't any great revelation - indeed at one point in the film Owen Wilson explicitly says it's a minor one - but a film with a simple message isn't necessarily a bad one.
There's no real dramatic tension in the film and the characters are almost intentionally superficial, but I don't see that as a great problem. I'm not sure that incredibly nuanced characters and relationships would have really been the best way to get the message across. If you take that on board it's enjoyable enough and I'd happily recommend it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Woody Allen's latest, Midnight in Paris, is in the vein of nostalgia we have had from him since Manhattan, combined with his framing of a picturesque city:there it was rhapsodic,here it is small-scale.Owen Wilson plays Gil,an unemployed Hollywood screenwriter working on his first novel,holidaying with his fiancée Inez(McAdams)prior to their wedding.Allen's Paris is seductively lit,but doesn't feel modern or real and largely unpeopled. Allen uses his old trick of wit and whimsy(a la Purple Rose) to effect time travel by midnight Peugot cab to Paris in the 20s to meet Hemingway,the Fitzgeralds,Cole Porter,Dali,Picasso,Bunuel,Stein, the Lost Generation. He is bored with his fiancée who belittles him in front of a male friend Paul(Sheen),who he lets go out with while Gil wanders the streets,jumping time,getting a review of his latest novel from Stein and Hemingway, while falling in love with Adriana(Cotillard),Picasso's mistress.The here and now is just another fantasy so there is no farewell to nostalgia.The Belle Epoque they also visit,meeting Degas and Lautec, are surprised they think it so great.Contentment is always backward-looking,Gil must set aside fantasy and make do with the here and now.
Inez's mother and father,Tea Party types,have their doubts about Gil,and have him followed by a private detective,who ends up as the object of the best joke in the film.Owen Wilson is charming and carries off the name-dropping Allen lines with comic verve,Hemingway(Stoll) is superbly gruff,Dali(Brody)a wizard of crazy wit. There are beautiful cameos from Cotillard and Lea Sedoux.There are some good one-liners as Gil negotiates seamlessly between the past and the present and the music,Bechet,Porter,gives the uncanny power of nostalgia a boost.... Read more ›
Inez's mother and father,Tea Party types,have their doubts about Gil,and have him followed by a private detective,who ends up as the object of the best joke in the film.Owen Wilson is charming and carries off the name-dropping Allen lines with comic verve,Hemingway(Stoll) is superbly gruff,Dali(Brody)a wizard of crazy wit. There are beautiful cameos from Cotillard and Lea Sedoux.There are some good one-liners as Gil negotiates seamlessly between the past and the present and the music,Bechet,Porter,gives the uncanny power of nostalgia a boost.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Duped!
No mention on sales page that this product should not be sold outside US or Canada. No mention in reviews that this product couldn't be used by UK player. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Peter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everyone should watch it
I though from the cover that this was a rom com and it took weeks for us to get round to watching it. Read more
Published 10 days ago by Rebecca
5.0 out of 5 stars
first film of its kind
THE FILM:
The soundtrack, the costumes, the setting - everything about this film's appearance is unlike any other. Read more
The soundtrack, the costumes, the setting - everything about this film's appearance is unlike any other. Read more
Published 19 days ago by E. Hepburn
1.0 out of 5 stars
Terrible film
Terrible film - Would rather watch paint dry than watch this film again.
Total waste of money - review did not match up to film.
Total waste of money - review did not match up to film.
Published 21 days ago by louise gerrie
5.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of feel-good escapism
Paris looks great. It doesn't stretch you mentally.The outfits look expensive, and the soundtrack is good, there's nothing in it to offend.
Published 27 days ago by L
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved it!
Such a funny and enchanting film. It is especially good for those who like vintage Paris and the humour of Luke Wilson. I would highly reccomend this film.
Published 28 days ago by PML
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of Woddy Allen's best films.
I purchased this film for a friend, after seeing it myself. The friend enjoyed it as much as I did. would recommend the company.
Published 1 month ago by michael berry
4.0 out of 5 stars
might be pleased with midnight in paris.
very enjoyable movie experience. A gentle, funny, warm film superbly shot and with a wonderfull cast . A pleasant alternative to all the usual hollywood action fest. Read more
Published 1 month ago by gilmour brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight in Paris Up there with the Very Best Films of Woody Allen.
There have been a few good successes in recent years for Woody Allen, but none come close to the true perfection of this film. Read more
Published 1 month ago by R. Howard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this film
Haven't loved many recent Woody Allen films in the way I did the old ones but this is great, it's such a romantically idealist film but in the best way, some good gags and also in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by S Saeed
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