There’s a scene in “Midnight in Paris,” a new romantic comedy written and directed by Woody Allen, in which one woman tells another about having seen a movie the previous night. She says the film was vulgar and lacking in wit, but she’d laughed anyway, in spite of herself. Through the scene, Allen expresses his low opinion of modern comedies like “Hangover II” and “Bridesmaids,” as well as contemporary audiences, who have an appetite for movies more focused on pushing the boundaries of bad taste than delivering smart comedy.
Instead of grousing bitterly, the 75-year-old Allen made “Midnight in Paris,” which contains everything he feels is missing from contemporary comedies. Having seen the movie, I’m inclined to agree with him. It is rich in wit, humor, and insight into the human condition. The actors have a presence that’s rare. And the direction is the work of an old master who can still make a movie as good as the classics for which he’s venerated.
“Midnight in Paris” made me long for a different era in cinema. As I basked in the end credits, I wanted to go back in time to the ’70s, when moviemaking was an art form first and a business enterprise second.That’s when Marin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick and other great directors pushed artistic boundaries without worrying about opening weekend grosses, and audiences were treated to a stream of what would become classics.
Then I laughed, because I realized I’d fallen prey to the same longing as Gil, the central character in “Midnight in Paris.” A successful screenwriter who’s tired of writing studio dictated drivel for the masses, he arrives in Paris for a vacation with his fiancé, Inez. While there, he’s enamored with the city, and as he walks the streets that once inspired Earnest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and other famous writers and artists, he begins to wish he’d lived in a different time.
His bride-to-be doesn’t share his romantic view of Paris, but instead is enamored with Paul, a pseudo-intellectual who speaks with great authority, but little accuracy or substance, on the art and history of the city.
Then something magical happens. While Gil is walking the streets of Paris alone at night, bells ring, an old fashioned car stops beside him, and its occupants invite him to join them for a night of revelry. When they arrive at a party, Gil meets a man who calls himself “Fitzgerald,” and then introduces his female companion, Zelda. Gil laughs, thinking the couple is role-playing, but as the evening progresses, he slowly realizes he’s traveled back in time to the ’20s.
The following evening, he takes Inez to the spot where the vehicle picked him up and waits for it to arrive, but she grows impatient and leaves. Moments later, the car appears, and Gil is shocked to find Hemingway inside. The writer takes Gil to meet Stein, who agrees to read a novel on which he’s working and introduces him to Picasso and the painter’s mistress, Adriana. Over the next few nights, Gil makes excuses to Inez about wanting to spend time alone working on his novel, and then returns to the past to meet more revered figures of literature and art. He also falls in love with Adriana, and cracks begin to appear in his relationship with Inez.
One of the pleasures of “Midnight in Paris” is how Allen and his actors bring the deceased to life. Fitzgerald frets over the possibility of losing Zelda, and Hemingway tells Gil he hates his book, even though he’s never read it. “If it’s terrible, I’ll hate it, and if it’s great, I’ll hate it even more,” he says. In a hysterically scripted scene, Gil tries to explain to a group of surrealists that he’s been traveling back and forth in time, and they believe him, but not on a literal level.
Allen also brings the slapstick humor seen in his earlier films out of mothballs, with hilarious results. I especially liked the scene in which a modern day private detective who’s lost in multiple jumps back in time walks up to the king and queen of France, asks for directions, and must then run for his life. Although comical, “Mid-night in Paris” is not a farce. Rather, it contains a warm message about disposing of the things in our lives that prevent our happiness and finding contentment in the present. What’s more, the ending is so beautiful, I’m unable to compose a single phrase to describe it.
“Midnight in Paris” is the best film of the year so far. If you enjoy going to the cinema, but don’t have a taste for summer blockbusters, it will be an oasis in the desert. Look for it; see it; drink it in. You’ll leave drunk with love for the movies. Rated PG-13 for several references and smoking. Four stars out of four.
Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.