Being the indecisive person that I am, it took a lot of thought for me to choose my favourite film. I wouldn’t consider myself a film buff but, like many others, when I’m faced with this question my immediate reaction is to say “I don’t think I have a favourite, but I think I have a top five?” I didn’t choose my favourite film based on how many accolades nappéd its name, nor for any truly outstanding performances. I chose Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011), a rom-com with a dash of time-travelling sci-fi,  purely because of how it makes me feel: nostalgic, joyful and happy.

 

I don’t recall ever being as taken with a film as quickly as I was with the opening montage of this movie. Allen utilises sixty shots of some of the most famous sites in the City of Lights to create a montage spanning from dawn to dusk. I was instantly captured by the sepia-toned frame of the Eiffel Tower overlooking the Seine. Yeah, this is Paris. As the montage progresses, the warm tones from the morning shift to greener hues and finally come to settle back on the Eiffel Tower once again, this time in darkness. Anyone lucky enough to have been to Paris understands what I mean when I say that the hazy warm light of a Paris morning is an other worldly experience. All the while, Sidney Bechet’s rendition of ‘Si tu vois ma mère’ plays, enhancing the Parisian feeling as we tour the sites and side streets. The whole montage functions to showcase Paris’ true beauty, especially in the rain – as per our protagonist, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) – much in the same way as Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) describes Gil’s love interest, Adriana (Marion Cotillard): “Belle.” As all good things do, this montage comes to an appropriate conclusion with Gil and his fiancé, the nonplussed Inez (Rachel McAdams), breaking from the illusion of living a Parisian life back to reality, representing a sign of things to come. 

 

One’s favourite film should be one that has had a profound, typically positive effect on that person. For me, this is the film that got me more interested in culture, history and literature – especially Hemingway. In addition to being a thoroughly relaxing and joyful movie, the performances required to bring icons of the Golden Age to life are exceptional. Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) is everything you expect him to be from the gruff and succinct mannerisms of his speech patterns in his writing to his keen fondness for all things alcoholic. One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when Gil first meets Hemingway after bar hopping with Zelda (Alison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). Hemingway’s rustic appearance and sombre mood is clearly a contrast to the Fitzgeralds’ upbeat vibe. Stoll isn’t playing an accurate-to-life version of Hemingway, but he is very much what we expect. That being said, the decision to use the low bass voice one might imagine for the venerable novelist is a smart one, as he is the first person to inspire Gil to start believing in his own work through his intimidating, macho demeanor. 

 

Hiddleston appropriately depicts Fitzgerald’s constant infatuation more as concern for Zelda, which Hemingway signals as his downfall. Fitzgerald somewhat mirrors Gil as a hopeless romantic, while Hemingway remains steadfast in his insistence that writing comes first. Gil’s own betterment comes from marrying these ideas together. It can even be said that in their first encounter, Gil and Scott are alike. Both are driven around the bend by their significant others, be it from partying or, in Gil’s case, a lavish lifestyle causing him to take “crummy rewrite jobs” and distance him from his aspirations of becoming a novelist. Bates’ performance as Stein is memorable, if brief. She is quickly established as a link between the great artistic minds of the generation living in Paris. Stein’s cult status is felt as she influences and advises both Pablo Picasso (Marcial di Fonzo Bo) and Hemingway in their respective disciplines. Much in the same way as she critiqued the aforementioned men, she is also responsible for placing the final piece of Gil’s personal jigsaw puzzle by making him see that Inez is having an affair with her old crush, the pedantic Paul (Michael Sheen). The portrayal of these cult figures is very much part of the charm of this movie. It makes me giddy to see Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody) simply act as a slightly exaggerated version of him. These are the moments that make it worthwhile; these are the moments that bring me unbridled joy.

 

Alongside the above elements, the story instills a hopeful and nostalgic feeling. There is nothing revolutionary about the story. The protagonist is jaded. He goes through a life-changing experience, falls in love with another woman and experiences heartbreak, but is ultimately  equipped to confront his reality and take a leap of faith. The pacing of the film is brisk but not so fast that you feel rushed. There is ample time to understand the plot and what’s going on, all while still being able to take in the beauty of the Parisian surroundings. The epiphany that Gil achieves occurs in a way that you’ll either see coming with ease or never have expected. Through their constant conversations, Adriana reveals La Belle Epoque to be Paris’ greatest era and the two consequently travel to said time. They encounter the great minds of that period, notably Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Vincent Manjou Cortes), who approaches Adriana with an offer for a costume designer from a colleague. After confessing to Gil her dream to remain due to her boring present life and Degas (François Rostain) and Gauguin’s (Olivier Rabourdin) insistence that the Renaissance was the true golden age, Gil realises that this is the beginning of another cycle. It is a cycle where each generation becomes as disillusioned as Gil is with his present, as Adriana is with hers and so on. He confronts the fact that he must not live in the past nor in his nostalgia, but rather he must cherish it while also savouring the present. It is a warning to everyone that dwelling on the past and not embracing the present moment will only bring dissatisfaction, something I have found myself relating to all too often.

Midnight in Paris is a perfect concoction. Romance, humour, sci-fi and drunk geniuses all working in a bizarre harmony. The eternal beauty of Paris and the actors that bring the legendary figures to life are integral to my enjoyment of the film, coupled with the pleasant, albeit unspectacular story arc. Gil not only serves as the ‘Allen’ character (decked out in khakis and flannel, while armed with awkwardness) but I also see him as containing a part of us all. He is just a little bit dismayed with our reality and is reaching for something in the past to achieve fulfilment. Allen, however, manages to keep us from thinking about this during the film, despite it being a clear overarching theme, and instead does exactly what Stein advises Gil to do. He does not “…succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.”