I am ambivalent about Woody Allen - but am therefore always willing to at least give his movies a try. I despise Owen Wilson. But, in the end, I really liked Midnight in Paris.
Wilson is very clearly playing the role of Woody Allen - indeed at times he seems to be channeling Allen as an actor. Wilson's character, Gil, is an American author, on vacation with his fiance in Paris. Each night at the stroke of midnight, he is mysteriously transported to 1920s Paris where he is able to meet all the great literary, musical, and artistic geniuses he so admires.
In the end, Gil comes to realize that his romantic fascination with a bygone golden era only serves to keep him from truly living in the present. His nostalgia for a time he never knew ignores the real pain inherent in human life even in so-called golden eras, but also misses the beauty and grace inherent in the present - even when the present is manifestly imperfect.
Anyway, enough from me ... I couldn't say it any better than my good friend Fr. Bob Barron:
... not only our generation's Fulton Sheen, but the Catholic Roger Ebert to boot!
With Fr. Barron I would say that perhaps the most enjoyable part of the movie is the way that Allen captures the "feel" of the historical characters. It certainly made me want to know more about Hemingway, Picasso, Dali, T.S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc. etc. And it definitely made me want to visit Paris again!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment