Monday, October 17, 2011

BEETLE IS SWEPT AWAY BY MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

Many films came out in the summer of 2011, most were pretty bad and few were good. Many I talked to claimed that Midnight in Paris was the best film of the summer, possibly the year. Of course, this intrigued me and so I sat down to give this cool little film a watch.

Midnight in Paris is the story of struggling screenwriter Gil (Owen Wilson) who is engaged to the stunningly beautiful Inez (Rachel McAdams). When Inez's parents travel to Paris on business, Inez and Gil trail along. Gil, who has always had a thing for Paris, is happy as a clam. His itinerary and Inez's clash, and after a night of wine tasting Gil (slightly inebriated) goes off on his own to wander the streets of Paris. At midnight an old fashioned vehicle pulls up and transports Gil back to the era he has always fantasized about: Paris in the roaring '20s.

Midnight in Paris is easily Owen Wilson's best film. In it he plays starry eyed Gil, who is all fantasies, dreams, hopes, and naivete. He is thrilled to be back in Paris and wants to see the sights and take in the atmosphere, unfortunately Inez has different plans and wants to do all the typical things Americans do when visiting this city, and this bores Gil. When he is inevitably whisked back to the 1920's, his initial reaction and his slow comprehension of what is actually happening are convincing and enjoyable to watch. Gil quickly becomes like a kid in a candy shop, and it is a joy to watch his joy on screen.

Gil is easily Wilson's best role of his career thus far, and it is a true treat to be able to see him tackle a role that doesn't require him to be overly annoying or whiny. Gil is a very funny character, but it's never comedy overload, and this is balanced by the fact that Gil is actually quite smart and witty. Owen Wilson is convincing, believable, and lovable in his portrayal of Gil, who is clearly meant to represent Woody Allen and to a certain extent the audience as well. I have enjoyed Owen Wilson in the past, but for the first time he really shines here.

Inez is played by the stunningly beautiful Rachel McAdams and the film isn't above reminding us of this fact. There is one scene where the camera focuses on her ass as she walks down a street and another as she bends over a car.It isn't obvious in the way the film does this, the camera doesn't zoom right in on it, but it's clear what we're supposed to be watching in these scenes. I have no problem getting to ogle some McAdam booty, but these scenes go on for a little bit too long.

McAdams character is really boring, but this is done on purpose. This is the way her character is written, and we are supposed to be bored by her, so it's ok. This is done to place us inside Gil's shoes so we can sympathize with him and understand his point of view. He is just as bored by her as we are, which begs the question: why is this guy getting married to her in the first place? It is clear from the get go that these characters are mismatched and are not meant for each other, even though it takes Gil a while to finally realize this.

Michael Sheen plays the "pseudo-intellectual" Paul and acts as a source of divide between Inez and Gil. Inez adores Paul and we can tell by Gil's behavior when Paul is around that he feels uncomfortable around him. It is made clear (without a word of dialogue, even though this is brought up a mere scene later) that Inez had a past history with Paul and that is the source of Gil's discomfort. When Paul is around, Gil acts defensive, tends to hug on Inez more, and disputes what Gil clams to be fact. All this is ok though, because deep down Paul really knows nothing about nothing.

By far the best scenes come when Gil is transported into the past and gets to meet various historical artistic figures including Cole Porter (Yves Heck), Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald (Alison Pill and Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), Salvador Dali (Adrian Brody, who is enjoyable and wacky here), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), and T.S. Eliot (David Lowe) among various others. At times it feels like the film is crowbar-ing too many historical figures into it at once, and it does get a bit hard to believe. For all I know, these men and women may actually have lived in Paris at the time...but even if they did it still feels a bit forced to have them all make an appearance in the film. The cameos in these sections are so numerous that the film really doesn't have the luxury of being able to focus on one historical figure at a time, but once again...that's ok.

The few that stick out are Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein(who does a fantastic job as usual), Alison Pil and Tom Hiddleston as the Fitzgeralds (Both of whom are completely believable in their roles here, Alison Pil has also been seen in Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World as Kim and Tom Hiddleston has most recently been seen as Loki in Thor and will reprise his role in The Avengers. I find it amusing that the man who played Loki also makes for a convincing F. Scott Fitzgerald), Adrian Brody as Salvador Dali (He is only in one scene here but manages to really sell his role here, easily one of the best of his career), and Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway (completely captivating here, probably the best one out of the bunch). While the characterizations aren't the most historically accurate, they are all super and definitely get the job done. These sections also act as wish fulfillment for any literary die-hard such as myself. Really, who wouldn't love to go back in time and meet all these influential figures, have them read over your work, critique it, and then proceed to have a conversation with them about anything and everything.

It is also during these sections that Gil meets a young Parisian named Adriana, who is an art groupie and has spent some time as both Picasso's and Hemingway's mistress. She is portrayed here by Marion Cotillard, who is easily at her most beautiful and best here. She (like every other period character in these parts) actually looks like she is from the roaring '20s. Gil quickly becomes smitten with her, and this leads to a conflict between him, Adriana, and Inez. After all, how do you tell your fiance you've fallen for a woman from a different era?

Adriana is a free spirit that changes lovers often and seems to be skilled at making love. I fell in love with her as Gil did, it's really hard not to. Her character arc ends up being a tad bit dissapointing, but it's done in this way to draw a parallel to Gil before he goes back in time to Gil after he's gone back in time. I'm not usually a big fan of Cotillard and I've never really been wowed by her beauty (until now that is, you won't believe how gorgeous she is in this film until you see it for yourself), but she easily dominates each scene she appears in and Wilson and her make for a cute and believable couple.

While Owen Wilson has main billing here, the real standout star of the film is Paris itself. The cinematography sampled here is the best I've seen all year. Every single solitary shot of Paris is beautifully shot. We see various Paris locations during the day, at night, and (perhaps most beautifully) during the rain. It is not hard to see why Gil has fallen in love with Paris and by the end of the film you will have fallen in love with this beautiful city as well. This film could easily act as a 90 minute long ad for the city.

While in the end Midnight In Paris is not without it's flaws, it's actually these flaws that make the film stronger. I must agree, Midnight In Paris was indeed the best film of the summer, and it very well could end up being the best of the year (it's my personal favorite of the year, and is guaranteed to be a sure Oscar contender). I believe everyone can find something to like about this film, but it's really made for the idealists such as myself, Gil, and Woody Allen himself. If you do take the trip to Paris, I promise you will not be disappointed.

5/5 BETTER THAN SEX

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