Paris, Je T’Aime – Woody Allen style

Midnight in Paris

Director Woody Allen Screenwriter Woody Allen Cast Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams

Another year means another Woody Allen film – this time shot in Paris. Midnight in Paris is a warm, nostalgic trip around the beautiful city, with Allen taking a more casual approach to telling his original story.

Wilson plays Gil, a Hollywood scripwriter whose true passion lies in writing a novel. Whilst constantly mocked by his fiancée (McAdams), he finds true happiness by wandering around the French city. He stumbles on a mysterious car one night, with its passengers urging Gil to come and join them. Deciding to go along for the ride, he finds himself socialising with the literary legends of the 1920s Lost Generation (Hemingway, Stein) who he has admired throughout his entire life.

The illusion the past creates, how we are never wholly satisfied with where we are at the moment, and our constant desire for a better life, are the challenges Gil faces when he sees something so glamorous. But Allen is here to assure us that it’s not really all that bad; if we stick with it and have patience. Allen has his ups and downs, but this is one of his more moving pieces of work in recent years. It is a humble offering, yet remains just as effective and touching.