In general I find Woody Allen movies to be a bit hit or miss for me. I have loved a few (Match Point, Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and felt completely bored and mystified by others (Scoop). As a general rule, I don’t find his characters very likeable but I love when he makes a location a character. The whole time I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona I felt transported to Spain. All the details of the movie made me feel like I was experiencing Spain and as soon as I left the theater I was ready to book a ticket.
Midnight in Paris has this quality as well. Not only did I want to go to Paris as I left the theater, I wanted to curl up for a few months reading all the literature written in the Golden Age of Paris. The movie follows a Hollywood screenwriter who is dissatisfied with his life and dreams of becoming a novelist. When he travels to Paris with his fiancée and her parents (who all hate Paris in uniquely American ways that will be familiar to travelers), he finds himself transported to Paris in the 1920s each night at midnight, with Gertrude Stein commenting on his novel and parties with the Fitzgeralds and Hemmingway. I loved the glamour of the scenes from 1920s Paris. The sets and costumes really made the period come alive along with a wonderful soundtrack of Cole Porter songs. The movie made me think a lot about what period in history I would choose to relive on a vacation. I think maybe England in the late 1960s to see the music and fashion. Midnight in Paris is a great way to get lost for a few hours and might even inspire you to find your own favorite creative era.
If you want to learn more about the movie and our current fascination with Paris, the NPR culture blog has a great article with some reading recommendations.
I was surprised on how much I liked this movie, despite not getting all the literary references from the early 1900's. I, too, wanted to stroll along the streets of Paris with them though! They looked so fun!
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