Movie Review: Midnight In Paris

I heard about this movie from my last English teacher. She recommended it to me and when I saw it at the library, I jumped at the opportunity to watch it. It's been on my To-Watch list for a while now. Without further ado, I bring you:



Midnight In Paris

Release Year: 2011

Genre: Romantic Comedy

My Rating: 4/5

The Premise: 

(As written on back cover)

"This is a romantic comedy set in Paris about a family that goes there because of business, and two young people who are engaged to be married in the fall, have experiences there that change their lives. It's about a young man's great love for a city, Paris, and the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better."

Trailer: 

The premise and trailer don't really get the gist of the movie across. Gil Pender is a writer. He works in Hollywood and writes stuff for movies. He doesn't really like what he does, it was just something he ended up doing. Lately, he's been working on a novel. He never lets anyone see it. Gil is set to marry Inez. The more you see them interact, the more you realize just how differently they see things. At midnight in a certain place in Paris, a car pulls up and transports Gil back in time. He meets famous authors and artists who impact him in great ways. 

That's a better general idea. This movie left me feeling really good. It was simple and to the point. It didn't take too many unnecessary turns, but it wasn't totally closed at the end. It was cool to see all of the different authors and artists in their own elements. I've never been too fond of Picasso's work and Dali was really quirky. The Fitzgeralds were rather interesting. Overall, this was a nice film, nothing too major, but still good. 

I like the way this film used the different characters to portray the plot. Not everything was said, but everything could be discovered by actions and reactions (If you watch it, you'll see what I mean). The differing viewpoints between Gil and Inez were used well. I could understand why their relationship pans out the way it does.

[This is totally unnecessary, but I feel like telling this little story concerning an observation and connection I made. When Gil is talking about how great the rain is and Inez just wants to get out of it, I'm reminded of when we went on vacation this summer. We were in San Antonio at Sea World and it would randomly rain here and again. Whenever it would rain, you could see all the guests scrambling for cover. That kinda confused me and seemed a bit ironic. They paid to go to SeaWorld, where it is pretty much a given that you're going to get wet, but they run from free water. They didn't want to get wet from the rain, but then you see them on water rides and sitting in the Splash Zone during the shows.]

Anyway, this movie is definitely good. Sometimes it lacks a bit (like in Owen Wilson's reactions), but it is a movie that can be enjoyed for its overall simplicity.