Midnight in Paris (2011)

While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates

Won 1 Oscar. Another 25 wins & 103 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Owen Wilson	...	Gil
Rachel McAdams	...	Inez
Kurt Fuller	...	John
Mimi Kennedy	...	Helen
Michael Sheen	...	Paul
Nina Arianda	...	Carol
Carla Bruni	...	Museum Guide
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Man at Wine Tasting
Thierry Hancisse	...	1920's Partygoer
Guillaume Gouix	...	1920's Partygoer
Audrey Fleurot	...	1920's Partygoer
Marie-Sohna Condé	...	1920's Partygoer (as Marie-Sohne Condé)
Yves Heck	...	Cole Porter
Alison Pill	...	Zelda Fitzgerald
Tom Hiddleston	...	F. Scott Fitzgerald

Storyline

Gil and Inez travel to Paris as a tag-along vacation on her parents' business trip. Gil is a successful Hollywood writer but is struggling on his first novel. He falls in love with the city and thinks he and Inez should move there after they get married, but Inez does not share his romantic notions of the city or the idea that the 1920s were the golden age. When Inez goes off dancing with her friends, Gil takes a walk at midnight and discovers what could be the ultimate source of inspiration for writing. Gil's daily walks at midnight in Paris could take him closer to the heart of the city but further from the woman he's about to marry.

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Plot Keywords:

time travel romance | 1920s | nostalgia | reference to auguste rodin | art history | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and smoking

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of four movies in which Rachel McAdams stars as the love interest of a time traveler. The other ones were The Time Traveler's Wife (2009), in which she played the title wife, Clare, to Eric Bana's character, About Time (2013), in which she played the girlfriend, Mary, of Domhnall Gleeson's character, and Doctor Strange (2016), in which she played girlfriend, Dr. Christine Palmer, of surgeon Stephen Strange. In none of these movies, does McAdams' character get to participate in time-travel herself.

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Goofs

Gil and Adriana dance to the tune of the song 'Parlez-moi d'Amour', not written until 1930.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Gil: This is unbelievable! Look at this! There's no city like this in the world. There never was.
Inez: You act like you've never been here before.
Gil: I don't get here often enough, that's the problem. Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain? Imagine this town in the '20s. Paris in the '20s, in the rain. The artists and writers!
Inez: Why does every city have to be in the rain? What's wonderful about getting wet?

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Connections

Referenced in Zlaté casy: Jirí Bartoska (2017)

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Soundtracks

Bistro Fada
Composed & Performed by Stephane Wrembel
© Stephane Wrembel Publishing
Courtesy of Stephane Wrembel

User Reviews

Ah, they don't make them like this any more

I'd been meaning to watch Midnight in Paris for ages but, I have to confess, I was put off by the presence of Owen Wilson, who I could not really envisage as the lead in a Woody Allen film. He was actually surprisingly good though and did a decent job as the vessel from which Allen's brilliant dialogue could be heard. However, this is not an actor-driven film or even a story-driven film; its beauty lies in the simple but clever script and the easy-going laid-back style that you'd expect from a Woody Allen film all about nostalgia.

To be fair, I can completely understand why there have been so many negative reviews of Midnight in Paris. There isn't a great deal going on superficially and the characters are all gloriously stereotypical. This doesn't matter though because, although the film is quite simple, it is at the same time wonderfully clever and thought-provoking. However, you do probably have to be in the right mood to watch it. I saw this film on a lazy Saturday afternoon and wasn't expecting too much, so when I was left both entertained and thinking about the past, the present and the future, it was a pleasant surprise. There are few films these days that still have you thinking about them several days later – this is definitely one of them. What do you want from life, with whom do you want to experience it, and why are we always so dissatisfied with where we are and what we've got? Like I say, quite thought-provoking!

It's incredibly ironic that some critics go on about how Woody Allen films aren't anywhere near as good as they were back in the seventies and that he's a has-been pseudo-intellectual, when here he is making a film about nostalgia and poking fun at pseudo-intellectuals in both an obvious and also a more subtle manner. Midnight in Paris is full of self-parody and interesting contradictions, but not everything is immediately apparent and I believe that some viewers of the film may have simply taken it at face value and consequently been left thinking "is that it then?".

On a slightly more negative side, I am perplexed that some people have praised the cinematography and the wonderful images of Paris in the light, in the dark and in the rain. To me, the use of colour and imagery are not too impressive and I would argue that Paris has looked far better in plenty of other films. The music can be a little annoying too – especially in the opening sequence, which seems to go on for ever!

As I said before though, Midnight in Paris is primarily about the dialogue and the interesting ideas that it throws out to the audience. Catch them if you like, and run with them. It's a great easy-going relaxing film that'll hopefully leave you both entertained and thought- provoked.

8/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Spain]

Country:

Spain USA France

Language:

English French Spanish German

Release Date:

10 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Midnight in Paris

Filming Locations:

16 Rues des Patriarches, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$599,003, 22 May 2011

Gross USA:

$56,817,045

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$153,959,590

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mediapro, Versátil Cinema, Gravier Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1