Magic at the stroke of 'Midnight'

If people were asked which place in the world they would most love to travel to, it's a safe bet that many would answer with Paris. The City of Light is a place of endless splendor that overflows with rich art, music, culture and fine dining. It's, without a doubt in my mind, the place to be. The life and spirit of this city is captured in director Woody Allen's time-travel romantic comedy, Midnight in Paris. It doesn't matter if you have or have not been to Paris. The way that the film explores the city is something to highly admire.

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a writer who holds Paris is such high regard. While there on a trip with his girlfriend Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents, he tries to soak in the customs of the city in order to obtain some inspiration for his first novel. As he's strolling along a deserted street late one night, a car picks him up and transports him to the 1920s era of Paris, a time period of which he believes he should have been born in. While he's there, he meets many of his artistic idols and absorbs the atmosphere of that time. He must decide, however, if he should continue living in the 21st century and find the beauty of his own era, or if he should stay in the time period of which he prefers.

Owen Wilson proves to be a very charismatic leading man. His character presents himself as a man of the world. He exhibits a curiosity that many of us would feel in a new and fascinating place, and his wanting for exploration fuels a true feeling of adventure. Gil's sincere sense of being star-struck and astonished when he becomes acquainted with some of his favorite authors is just as we would feel if given the chance to meet our favorite icons. Rachel McAdams's role as Inez is one that's different than what we're used to when watching her. Most of her work includes good-natured characters. Her part in this movie, as a girlfriend who doesn't miss a chance to put down her boyfriend, shows the audience that she can play characters that are unlikable as well as ones that are. Michael Sheen, as a know-it-all intellectual, is also a delight to watch.

The best parts of the supporting cast consist of those that Gil meets in the 1920s. It's a mix of some of the world's greatest and most influential cultural figures, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Cole Porter (Yves Heck), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) and Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo). Each of these actors are scene-stealers in their own right, especially Adrien Brody as an eccentric Salvador Dali. Watching these trailblazers of the past converse with each other is an absolute joy to watch, and makes this film feel like a time machine. Alison Pill, as F. Scott's wife Zelda, achieves a wonderful southern accent. She is an actress with some noteworthy work; and although she's not as familiar to audiences now, she deserves much recognition in the future. Marion Cotillard is as glowing as ever as Gil's 1920s love interest, Adriana. Cotillard has the looks and elegance of an old-fashioned Hollywood actress, and in the movie, that becomes even more apparent.

Woody Allen's screenplay travels around nearly every corner of Paris. It provides the city with the opportunity to become as vivacious as its many characters. The opening of the film displays many locations in Paris, which allows the viewer to be immersed in the marvelous city and to fall in love with it as much as Gil does. This film is a festive celebration of the bountiful art that the 1920s had to offer; but it also emphasizes the need to notice and appreciate the culture that our own era serves us. With all of the artistic accomplishments being done today, that won't be hard to do. Midnight in Paris is proof of that.

Final grade: A