Midnight in Paris
We’re only 8 days away from Oscar day. I’ve been able to watch the films nominated for Best Picture, and I’ll be posting two new reviews every day. Today, “Midnight in Paris” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”.
Movie Review: “Midnight in Paris”
By Marcus Flewellen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Carla Bruni, Adrien Brody, Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen, Allison Pill, Kathy Bates
Written and Directed by Woody Allen
“Midnight in Paris” is not one of the nine best films of 2011. It’s not even in the top 50. It’s not good, period. Is it terrible? No. But, honestly, that’s the best thing I can say about it. Which is a shame since it’s been nominated for Best Picture of the Year. Wow.
Allen has wasted an insanely talented cast. Owen Wilson does fine work here as Gil Pender, a frustrated Hollywood screenwriter who’s working on a novel. Gil is in Paris with his beautiful fiancee Inez (played here by an underused Rachel McAdams). Gil loves Paris, and wishes that he had been alive in Paris in the 1920′s, the “Golden Age” of art and writing. While strolling around Paris at midnight (get it?) one night, Gil gets into a cab that magically transports him to this Golden Age, where he runs into famous historical figures such as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (played by Tom Hiddleston and Allison Pill, both great), Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody) and Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates). He even falls in love with a beautiful muse played by Marion Cotillard, who’s good here but also underused.
I wanted to like this movie, I really did. I like Woody Allen films. It’s nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It has a fantastic cast. Why is it so….mediocre? Because Allen is more concerned with putting in as many historical figures on-screen as possible instead of telling a compelling story or writing good dialogue. The cast does the best with what they have, but honestly, this movie just didn’t work for me.
2 out of 4 stars.
