Review of Magic in the Moonlight (2014) by Kyle H — 16 Dec 2014

While a number of critics have seemed to complain that MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT does not stand up to "classic" Woody Allen, I am in the (seeming) minority who tends to like Allen's newer work a bit more - if one indeed has to choose between poles. If one compares MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT to only itself, instead of other films from Allen's cannon, it can indeed achieve some magic from time to time. This is yet another in a long string of films this year I am a bit hesitant to review because it touches on metaphysical themes and does not particularly move toward conclusions that I necessary agree with. Although, in fairness to MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT, the movie does not specifically make conclusions that I disagree with in that regard. If anything the movie leaves everything to the interpretation of the viewer (probably how Allen perceives that life should work). I am not sure I like that conclusion either.

Ideological themes aside, the chemistry among the members of the ensemble is quite good. The movie's story is quite obviously based on the latter years of Harry Houdini. Our skeptic, pessimistic protagonist (played by Collin Firth) is drawn in by a friend to try and debunk a young spiritualist (Emma Stone) who slowly begins to capture our leading man's mind by also capturing his heart. Firth and Stone play very naturally and playfully against each other, making for a series of wonderfully entertaining dialogues. These dialogues make the movie feel as if it waxes philosophical a bit too much at times, though. A bit more visual dialogue with the audience would have been nice. In fact - although the feature has pretty cinematographic shots from time to time - the actual aesthetic of the completed picture is not very pleasant. It is cut together in a way that may be attempting to duplicate the editing process of pictures from the period the movie takes place in (or maybe I'm giving out too much credit), but it sort of feels irritatingly lazy. The cuts are obvious. There is no attempt to beautifully transition between shots - we are left only with musically covered cuts. Fortunately, the music is quite fitting for each moment once we are actually into each scene and is one of the more intriguing scores that I've heard this year. Perhaps that makes the music distracting, but I sort of liked it anyway. There are plenty of things to like and a handful of things to dislike in Allen's most recent feature. My gut reaction was to enjoy the movie for the excellent chemistry between Firth and Stone (as well as some welcomed banter from Eileen Atkins).