After watching Midnight in Paris, I felt the need to tiptoe without shoes on.
There was something so delicately beautiful about the movie that I wanted it to
resonate in silence afterwards. In addition to this, I also felt the need to
listen to some more songs by Cole Porter. Midnight
in Paris is like the twenties-era mistress that it portrays; the film
captivates you, draws you in, and then leaves you in this state of
reflectiveness. As we fade out with Owen Wilson walking in the rain, a major
theme throughout the movie, I fell in love with Woody Allen’s alternate
reality.
Before watching this film, I have to
admit that I was a Woody Allen virgin. The name has always sounded familiar to
me, but now I can finally ground it. If Woody Allen were a balloon, and I
wanted to ground it, then I guess that makes Midnight in Paris the string. To keep up with the metaphor, Midnight in Paris made for a good string
in that it truly showed me why Woody Allen has received all this recognition.
It also showed me that he deserves it.
Allen tells the story of a man named
Gil Pender, who has two loves in his life: Adriana, Pablo Picasso’s girlfriend,
and his image of the past. He’s also married, but throughout the movie it seems
obvious to the audience, if not to Gil himself, that he never really loved his
fiancé, Inez. In this modern twist on Cinderella, Gil gets into a car at the
strike of midnight and is taken ninety years back in time to meet all of his
intellectual heroes, some of who include Ernest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso,
Gertrude Stein, and both of the Fitzgeralds. Although I’ve never been
particularly fascinated by the “classics”, I couldn’t help but get excited as
Gil, played by Owen Wilson, reacted to each of these great influences on his
life.
When I figured out that the story
was about time travel, I immediately thought of the plot structure that seems
to shape the “genre”: protagonist travels to a different time, thinks he or she
is crazy, begins to accept the new environment, doesn’t want to leave, realizes
that he or she is tempering with human history, eventually decides to return to
the present, but then makes a necessary life shift upon returning. Movies that
follow this predictable timeline include Pleasantville,
starring Tobey Maguire, Back to the
Future, movies 1, 2, and 3, and even Disney’s own Minutemen. Midnight in Paris
is no different. However, Woody Allen’s take on the time travel “genre” made me
realize that it’s predictability was not a weakness, but a strength. By playing
to our expectations, Allen allows us to appreciate the little things that make
this movie so dynamic. For example, each character that we are introduced to is
wildly unique, and makes for entertaining dialogue that flows easily. Also, the
1920s sets in this movie felt authentic, despite the fact that I have neither
been to Paris nor lived in the twenties.
In contrast to many other time
travel movies, Woody Allen’s Midnight in
Paris is able to get the message across without creating sappiness or
beating us over the head with it. As Gil realizes why he must get back to 2010,
we feel that we come to this profound realization with him: that every
generation is displeased with the present, and therefore our idealization of
the past is only a manifestation of our current unhappiness. I particularly
liked how this point is made when Gil is on a “double time loop”, so to speak, when he and 1920’s Adriana go back to the 1890’s. It’s always nice when the
protagonist has someone in the movie who recognizes “time travel”, and doesn’t
think he or she is delusional.
My favorite twist in the movie is
when he goes back to the future and leaves his fiancé instead of trying to fix
their problems. Due to the negative portrayal of Inez, I suppose I always knew
they weren’t going to end up together, but I was relieved when it happened
none-the-less. With time-warping movies, I notice a tendency in the plot
structure to come back to the present with an It’s A Wonderful Life mentality, both literally and allegorically. You
expect the time traveler to come back and be thankful for what they do have. In a scene with Adriana in the
1890’s, Woody Allen creates this moment when Gil rattles on about antibiotics.
(Adriana’s blank expression also made for a funny scene as well.) But overall,
Gil is not thankful for his life in the present. Instead, his journey to the
past prodded him to change his lifestyle in the present. Unassuming Gil is
suddenly transformed in a man who is willing to finally stand up to his fiancé
and be the person he’s always wanted to be.
While I normally see Owen Wilson as
“the ultimate funny guy”, a title given to him by my adoring mother, along with
many other woman I’m sure, I thought that Wilson’s transition to Drama was very
much like Gil’s transformation; smooth and successful. Maybe it’s the southern
accent, but Wilson led this story in a genuine manner that mirrored Allen’s
genuine script.
MOVIES WATCHED: 6
SCREENPLAY PAGES WRITTEN: 16
NOVEL PAGES WRITTEN: 60
PAGES LEFT IN MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR
PECULIAR
CHILDREN: 170
PAGES LEFT IN THE HOURS: 178
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