"What is it with this city? I need to write a letter to the Chamber of Commerce."

Allen: Midnight in Paris 18/10/11

Director: Woody Allen            Writer: Woody Allen

2011

After conforming to the opening title pattern he has established in recent films Allen goes on to immerse the audience in a lengthy montage of shots of Parisian architecture and people, he makes sure that we know that the city is as much a character as any played by an actor in this film. We get another voiceover with the titles which sets up the view at life the film is supposed to explore. I was disappointed with the way the same thing turned out in Match Point (see last review) however this film is much more focused and aware of its concept. And it is an interesting, original concept: if we were allowed to carry out our nostalgic wishes and actually go back to another time, would we be happier?

            Our nostalgic protagonist is played by Owen Wilson, and for me he is pretty much at home here, seeking from the past inspiration from his favourite writers while he struggles with his debut novel. He is a neurotic dreamer who manages to find himself in the world (or time rather) of his dreams and find refuge from his fiancé (Rachel McAdams). There is typical couple’s trouble from Allen mainly in the form of the overbearing in laws and old crush Michael Sheen who hits an almost perfect balance between slimy and condescending. This made me more sympathetic than usual for a Woody Allen protagonist and I was happy for him when he got his wish of living in the past.

            I believe that most people are nostalgic about one era or another and shows like Mad Men and period dramas surely owe much of their success to this fact. What Allen shows us is that people in those eras we want to go back to had nostalgia of their own, and that it is the present that is the issue.