Midnight in Paris

To say Woody Allen is a prolific filmmaker is a bit of an understatement. Not only is Midnight in Paris his 42nd picture at the helm but also his second UK release this year. The first was the disappointing You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, one of the directors lesser, unfunny works that has become all too common in recent years. It was a picture that successfully painted a ridiculously glossy, charming view of London and failed to achieve any of the wit and humour that make his work so great, and thus I feared Midnight in Paris would be the same but in France. Fortunately, I was wrong.

Instead, this is a film full of magic and nostalgia for bygone days, as we follow Gil (Owen Wilson), an American writer in love with 20s Paris and the ideas of the lost generation, who finds a way to magically transport himself back in time to live out his fantasy for a few hours each night. Of course, being this type of film he meets all his heroes from F Scott FitzGerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) to Salvador Dali (Adrian Brody) who offers advice on his work and life. All of which, thanks to the excellent script and the director’s craft comes off brilliantly and it is hard not to find yourself enraptured by this warm and vibrant world with its vast array of great characters. As for the present; whilst it may lack the glamour, it is still flows along nicely with actors like Michael Sheen and Rachel McaAdams providing a great backdrop here as well.

The central question regarding almost any comedy is simply is it funny, to which regarding Midnight in Paris we answer with a resounding yes, as it contains enough wit and humour to make it easily one of the funniest films of the year and without any resorting to crude humour. Though the more you know about the 1920s and the lives of the people Gil meets the funnier it will undoubtedly be, there is more than enough here to amuse someone who regrettably could not place half of them. Yet perhaps the reason that it has real heart and soul, as all good Woody Allen films do, is because it is really about something. Here it is the idea that, at the end of the day, life is in fact inherently sub-standard, a concept that appears throughout shaded amongst the rich fantasy and the laughs and works as it should, giving the film its necessary poignancy.

Midnight in Paris is not a perfect Woody Allen; it does move a little slowly towards the end, and we probably have figures from the period we would like to have met or seen more of. Yet I am definitely not complaining: this is an entertaining and genuinely funny film with a vibrant heart and soul that is simply magical and a joy to watch. Now we just have to hope that the 75-year-old director can keep this up and that this is not just another occasional triumph in his disappointing latter years.

See Midnight in Paris at York City Screen. For more information visit http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/York_Picturehouse/film/Midnight_In_Paris/

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