Morning in Sydney followed by Midnight in Paris
How do I begin reviewing this film? Woody Allen has yet again done something different or some people may like to call it weird. For moi, it was brilliant, simply because it displayed something that we all indulge into – romanticising our favorite cities.
Now I have haven’t been to Paris, but comprehended Allen’s obsession with the city of love. The film is essentially an intelligent script entailing characters from present and past rendez-vous ing with highflier Hollywood script writer Gayle (Owen Wilson), who is bothered by the drudgery of his Hollywood scriptwriting. He is visiting Paris with his fiance’s family, now Woody Allen again sticks to his stereotypes about Americans, (remember Vicky’s boredom with his American fiance and couple in Vicky Christina Barcelona), in fact, in Midnight in Paris, he takes it a step further by showcasing pretentious Americans trying to display knowledge on French art and culture. But he immediately contradicts it by unfolding multiple layers of Gayle’s character, a young writer who wants to create something special but cannot find the courage to do it.
The film alternates between Gayle’s two lives and experiences, leading him into something completely unexpected. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the script, any more revelation would act as a spoiler.
We have all experienced over romanticisation of our countries, cities and even suburbs at some point in our lives. Midnight in Paris takes it deeper into Gayle’s context, but makes the viewer think of similar obsessions. I left the cinema thinking and talking to a friend about how Bombay is such an amazing city, and how the trains, rains and drains make it that special place. That over anything else it succeeds in inspiring its inhabitants. I think of Melbourne, as a city of art and culture, petit cafes tucked away in lanes and alley ways, where the weather is schizophrenic and unreliable.
The film expresses how each city you lived and loved has affected your life in more than one way. Can geo-socio nature of a city affect art and artists to such an extent? That’s what Midnight in Paris is about. Watch it, you’ll be surprised what Woody Allen can create, yet again.
