Review of Midnight in Paris (2011) by Kenny A — 10 Feb 2013
One of my favorite Woody Allen films. It feels as if, rather than give up the drums he's been beating on since the 70s, he's accepted them as questions without definite answers. But he does not despair in what is probably his victory lap.
Rather, he takes on his (and our) fears and insecurities with a sage and charming tone. Allen brings us to the idealized past to meet and mingle with some surprisingly genuine famous thinkers and artisans of the 1920s "golden age.
" Yet, even as he has us wish we were in Owen Wilson's shoes, he leaves us with the reassurance that though nostalgia is the joyous curse of humanity, what we yearn for can indeed be found in our own time In the end, what we get is a film that is comfortable in its peculiarities and makes no effort to cover for a premise based in utter fantasy.
Midnight in Paris is not flashy and will get no uproar-ish laughter and no "oos" and "ahs" (unless an English professor catches one of the witty literary references). It is a film that relies on our fascination with the past and our ability to suspend disbelief in order to soak in the magic of being in Paris at midnight, with all its possibilities.
I have not left a movie theater feeling so good in a long time.
This review of Midnight in Paris (2011) was written by Kenny A on 10 Feb 2013.
Midnight in Paris has generally received very positive reviews.
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