On a Magical Night

Chambre 212 a.k.a. "On A Magical Night" is a retread of stories of what-could-have-beens à la It's a Wonderful Life, Non-Fiction and even A Christmas Carol. This time the older adults became shadows of who they were when they were young. There is a lot of homage to movies here, very talk-y and chatty air like early- to mid-career Woody Allen and Nora Ephron, and good deployment of songs as musical score. While a bit light in premise, the substance of the script intelligently goes beyond the usual stories of reflective recollections. The principal cast and their old/young selves were uniformly very good, animating the curves and crevices of the well developed screenplay. Certain line readings (especially how it is said in French) are funny without being precious.