Midnight in Paris (9.5/10)

I live on a similar plane as Gil (Owen Wilson, his best role in years). Not that we are in similar social classes and standings. It's that we have an idea about life and culture  and if we're not living it, we wouldn't know what else to do. Gil is the kind of guy that wishes he grew up in a different time. He looks at 1920's Paris and it's achievements as the ideal life. I wrote in my "The Dreamers" review that I wish I was in 1960's Paris in the time of New Wave film making that flourished during the time. I think we all have a time that we want to live in, maybe you just want to relive some years rather than choose a new one. Gil and I have minds that aren't quite here but always looking at the world through different eyes. "Midnight in Paris" is a lovely film that is funny, endearing, charming, smart an cultured. This is a brilliant way to spend two hours. Not even spend, but actively enjoy.

Gil and his fiancee Inez (the always pretty Rachel McAdams) have bummed along with Inez's parents to Paris. Inez looks to shop and enjoy the finer things. Gil looks at Paris like a painting or a poem. It is beautiful beyond mere words to him. Every corner and alley has it's own little magic. The film opens with about three minutes of camera shots of Paris. They don't show the sites so much as the beauty in the average street. Gil and Inez bump into Paul (Michael Sheen), an old college friend of Inez and we have are antagonist. He's not a villain, but from minute one the audience and Gil don't like him. Paul is that rich snobby guy that thinks he knows everything and has no problem telling you this. He could be completely wrong, but won't admit defeat. Gil and I are the people who love art and culture and Paul is the guy that gives us a bad name. Inez is smitten and eats up everything he says. Gil is less impressed and wants to enjoy things himself rather be told why he should like what he sees.

(slight spolier upcoming)

Gil leaves Paul and Inez one night and goes on a walk around Paris one night. He sits on some steps when a old fashion car comes up and the people driving beckon him inside. He ends up wandering Paris in the 1920's and meets the famous minds of the time. Gil is as clueless as we are at first. He looks like he's seen a ghost (he sort of has). However he comes around after spending some time with his role models. He hangs out with F. Scott Fitzgerald (future star Tom Hiddleston), his wife Zelda (Allison Pill), the ever badass Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody having a blast), Luis Bunuel (Adrien de Van), Man Ray (Tom Cordier) T.S Eliot (David Lowe) and many more. I listed so many names because like Gil, we are impressed as well. The classic names you'll know but Gil's fascination will win you over. I recognized most the names and some by face first, but other names may not impress the average movie goer. It won't matter in the long run. You can't be 100% sure what Gil sees is real, but who cares... that's part of the magic. Gil and the audience believe it because it's so much fun. He meets an aspiring fashion designer Adriana (The easy to love Marion Cotillard) and sees a new life with her. She supports his creativity and also believes Paris is a gem. Inez while not a bad person, is just the wrong one for Gil. She idolizes another man, wants a completely different life than Gil, believes "cheap is cheap", has little respect for her fiancee and doesn't supports Gil's dream. So is it hard to see why Gil has a thing for another woman? Infidelity is a terrible thing, but some couples aren't meant to be. It doesn't seem possible to hate Gil for choosing this life, he's to likable a character. Throw in a nostalgia store clerk Gabrielle (French beauty Lea Seydoux) and a private eye following Gil and you have a movie that is as in love with it's characters as Gil is with Paris.

The movie is all story, character, mood and feeling. I found myself watching Gil in scenes where others were talking because I saw so much of myself in him. He quietly mops around when unhappy and lags behind others when he's unhappy and uncomfortable. His eyes dart from object to object in a starry eye feeling of bliss. He even silently thinks out loud when lost in a haze of thoughts and memories.  The story is darling and will be a blast/delight throughout. The sets are well designed and will make you not only love Paris, but make you feel your there as well. This is one of the best films in capturing the beautiful essence of a city. You'll come to admire the 1920's as Gil's does. "Super 8 " is this summer's best blockbuster and now with "Midnight in Paris" it has it's best romantic comedy. For those who saw romantic comedy just there and were turned off, don't be. It has romance and comedy in it but it's about so much more. You won't see those cliches you'll see in most romantic comedies. "Midnight in Paris" is one of the most original movies I've ever seen. At the stroke of midnight a car comes to pick up Gil and like the film it's nothing but mesmerizing magic.

9.5/10

Recommendation: A enjoyable movie all around. It's artsy and funny. Don't let it's cultured nature scare you off though. Something's gotta be wrong with you in order to not to like this movie (maybe not as much as me, but to hate it seems highly unlikely). I saw it at the Avon and the crowd loved it. It had about 80% older people (50 and above) and the rest college kids like me. People were laughing hysterically at parts that I just smiled at. I loved it as much as them (if not more), but damn! They were laughing for everything and applauded it when it was over. I've see only three movies the audience actually clapped over unanimously in the theater, it's definitely something special.