A nostalgic writer (Owen Wilson) goes to Paris with his fiancees family. He doesn't love his fiancee and loves it more in France then in America. At Midnight as he walks the streets of Paris, he's magically taken back to Paris in 1920 where he meets famous French celebrities and a beautiful French woman.
Our main character is none other than the character Woody Allen usually plays but since he's too old to play a young man, he'd have to find someone who can nearly bring the same charm as himself, so he got Owen Wilson. Is he good, no he's perfect. His acting, character and delivery is near as great as Woody Allen. He plays the part so well that I can almost swear that he is Woody Allen. Now since the film is a time traveling film, I'm going to review the film in parts of each time period.
2010 FRANCE
First off I love the shots of France(epically in the opening), it really makes the city look magical, artistic and welcoming then rude, over the top, sleazy and dare I say stereotypical that we usually get in cinema. The fiancee played by Rachel McAdams is a real bitch and someone I'd marry last. Her parents played by Mimi Kennedy and Kurt Fuller are just as mean as she is and I got some chuckles out of Kurt Fuller. Then we have Paul played by Michael Sheen who is a complete asshole. Other characters like the Museum Guide, the private detective and the girl he meets in modern day Paris are the welcoming characters (Well most of them) and they too are fun and memorable. By the way, the best comedic scene in Modern day Paris is when our character is trying to cover up him seeing another girl. I also love the things he finds from the past that he's seen when he went through time. That's pretty much the present France, now lets follow that old fashioned car and go back in time to...
1920
Remember the techniques and art direction in "Godfather Part 2" for when we see Vito's past? Woody Allen mostly uses the same techniques and style as the second Godfather film and it truly and I mean truly captures the time period it takes place in and the magic of Paris. The love interest played by Marion Cotillard, I love her and feel for her and boy is she gorgeous.She and Wilson also have great chemistry together. The celebrities he encounters such as Jean Cocteau, Alice B. Toklas, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Zelda, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel are all well performed,very fun and some come close to acting like the real person. This film really does feel magical. We do visit 1890 which is just as magical as the time periods we've talked about but I won't spoil it for you. Oh and we do see another time period as a joke which I won't ruin for you.
This film feels like I went on a vacation through the eyes of Woody Allen and was magically taken back to the past. It's a really well written, well directed and beautiful movie. One of Woody Allen's best and don't worry I'll review another Allen film every now and then and maybe have another month dedicated to him but for now enjoy and see some of the films I reviewed.
RATING 5/5
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