Directed by Woody Allen
Reviewed by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban
I believe Woody Allen has been directing films for as long as I have been watching them. And that is a long time.
It was through Woody Allen’s films I discovered Manhattan years before I set foot in the city. And although, I am not a great fan of his, I have watched my share of his movies. Some ( Scoop, 2006) I loved, some (Vicky Cristina Barcelona 2008) I hated.
His new movie Midnight in Paris is enchanting.
It starts Owen Wilson as Gil, an American scriptwriter visiting Paris with his rich fiancé Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her very Republicans parents.
Gil and Inez do not agree in many things, not in the things that count, anyway, like where they’d like to live (Gil in Paris, Inez in California), what to do for work (Gil wants to write a novel, Inez wants him to write scripts for Hollywood movies), or how interesting is Paul, the pseudo intellectual American friend they meet in Paris by chance. They definitely do not agree on where to spend their nights. Gil loves walking around, especially in the rain. Inez wants to go dancing, especially with Paul.
And so it is that during his walks, one night, Gil is transported to 1920s Paris where the likes of Scott Fitzgerald and his moody wife Zelda, Hemingway, Pablo Picasso and Gertrude Stein rule.
How this happens and how Gil returns to the XXI century in the morning and then again to the past every night we never know. Not that it matters, because the magic of Paris works on the viewer as it does on the confused protagonist and I, for one, was happy to follow him and witness his falling in love, in no particular order, with the 20s, a girl from the past, and the city of Paris.
The city is beautiful, the characters, endearing, and the plot cleverly romantic. What is there not to like?
And if you’re not convinced. Here is the trailer. Enjoy.

And now for a slightly different view, scroll down to Mary Fran’s review of Midnight in Paris, below!