Midnight in Paris (2011)
Country: SP/US
Technical: col 94m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody
Synopsis:
A Hollywood writer struggling with his first novel visits Paris with his fiancée and future in-laws. As he grapples with his creative insecurities and doubts about the forthcoming wedding, he discovers a twilight world of bistros and salons from the 1920s, and an ability to commune with his artistic idols of the past. However, sooner or later he must face up to his present.
Review:
Allen's most commercially successful film in years begins with a lazy montage of Parisian vistas that does not augur well; and the first couple of reels reinforce the impression of déjà vu, as the director's proxy and ill-suited partner are treated to a tour of the city's treasures by a pretentious know-it-all, and endure discomfiting moments with the girl's Republican parents. Once we get down to the core Purple Rose of Cairo business, things pep up somewhat, with Allen indulging in his knowledge of the era to produce some nice in-jokes and caricatures, Hemingway's being particularly good. However, even this recalls Alan Rudolph's The Moderns, and, what with Wilson's irritating drawl and body language assaying yet another Allen incarnation, parroting the increasingly cringe-making romantic come-ons ('You look amazing.') and personal hangups, one is left with the impression of an old master well into his dotage and embarked on an endless tour of European cities, in an attempt to disguise the fact that he has done it all before in New York. The message here, that nostalgia is a deceptive indulgence and denial of the present, couldn't be more apt.
Country: SP/US
Technical: col 94m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody
Synopsis:
A Hollywood writer struggling with his first novel visits Paris with his fiancée and future in-laws. As he grapples with his creative insecurities and doubts about the forthcoming wedding, he discovers a twilight world of bistros and salons from the 1920s, and an ability to commune with his artistic idols of the past. However, sooner or later he must face up to his present.
Review:
Allen's most commercially successful film in years begins with a lazy montage of Parisian vistas that does not augur well; and the first couple of reels reinforce the impression of déjà vu, as the director's proxy and ill-suited partner are treated to a tour of the city's treasures by a pretentious know-it-all, and endure discomfiting moments with the girl's Republican parents. Once we get down to the core Purple Rose of Cairo business, things pep up somewhat, with Allen indulging in his knowledge of the era to produce some nice in-jokes and caricatures, Hemingway's being particularly good. However, even this recalls Alan Rudolph's The Moderns, and, what with Wilson's irritating drawl and body language assaying yet another Allen incarnation, parroting the increasingly cringe-making romantic come-ons ('You look amazing.') and personal hangups, one is left with the impression of an old master well into his dotage and embarked on an endless tour of European cities, in an attempt to disguise the fact that he has done it all before in New York. The message here, that nostalgia is a deceptive indulgence and denial of the present, couldn't be more apt.
Country: SP/US
Technical: col 94m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody
Synopsis:
A Hollywood writer struggling with his first novel visits Paris with his fiancée and future in-laws. As he grapples with his creative insecurities and doubts about the forthcoming wedding, he discovers a twilight world of bistros and salons from the 1920s, and an ability to commune with his artistic idols of the past. However, sooner or later he must face up to his present.
Review:
Allen's most commercially successful film in years begins with a lazy montage of Parisian vistas that does not augur well; and the first couple of reels reinforce the impression of déjà vu, as the director's proxy and ill-suited partner are treated to a tour of the city's treasures by a pretentious know-it-all, and endure discomfiting moments with the girl's Republican parents. Once we get down to the core Purple Rose of Cairo business, things pep up somewhat, with Allen indulging in his knowledge of the era to produce some nice in-jokes and caricatures, Hemingway's being particularly good. However, even this recalls Alan Rudolph's The Moderns, and, what with Wilson's irritating drawl and body language assaying yet another Allen incarnation, parroting the increasingly cringe-making romantic come-ons ('You look amazing.') and personal hangups, one is left with the impression of an old master well into his dotage and embarked on an endless tour of European cities, in an attempt to disguise the fact that he has done it all before in New York. The message here, that nostalgia is a deceptive indulgence and denial of the present, couldn't be more apt.