A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
Amusing and cleverly sustained, Midnight In Paris is also perceptive about our longing for people and places we can never experience. It confirms that even in the autumn of his career, Allen can still surprise and delight.
Full of hope and whimsy this loving embrace of romanticism may be slow but it is oh so sweet.
Light, assured, and utterly charming: Woody Allen’s sublime gifts are still intact.
Magical, charming and wise.
Bursting with ideas, this is a wonderful, whimsical romantic fantasy in which every scene delights and every actor excels, with Wilson in particular a revelation as the latest Woody surrogate.
Allen isn't slavishly trying to reclaim some golden age of creativity, nor he charging ahead with barely a reference to his illustrious past: this is Allen nodding to his back-catalogue, trying something new and moving on. Long-suffering fans would do well to do the same.
An absurdly charming and unexpected return to form.
Think of the glass as half full: something to knock back gratefully, as proof that Woody isn’t down to the dregs yet.
If it is too late to expect another great Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris is nevertheless a surprising event, the surprise being that he's still capable of grace, lightness, wit.
This may not be a return to the glory days, but it's a vivid reminder of them. That's almost as good.
A delightful exercise in wish-fulfillment.
This love letter to the City of Lights is Allen's best film since Husbands And Wives.
Witty, featherlight and openly sentimental, this is Woody’s love letter to Paris and the most relaxed, likeable movie he’s made in years.
Midnight in Paris is a cinematic soufflé that rises to perfection, a wry, funny, touching picture, pursuing some of his favourite tropes and themes but with sufficient asperity to give a sting to the nostalgia it embraces.
As frivolous as it is, the glowing cinematography, the postcard settings and the rhapsodic dialogue all convey the director's swooning adoration of Paris with a force that's hard to resist.
This is Allen nodding to his back-catalogue, trying something new and moving on.
This is a feel-good film that reminds us to appreciate what we’ve got, because human nature’s inherent longing for the past will never be productive.
The film therefore lacks the dash of sophistication that would have cemented its status as one of Allen’s best. Nevertheless, this does not detract from its considerable charm.
Woody Allen gets his groove back with Midnight in Paris after years of decline
Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris--Enchange, Monsieur!
Woody Allen: He'll always have Paris
Midnight in Paris: a beginner's guide to modernism
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday December 9, 2011, until Thursday December 15, 2011. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com
Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday December 30, 2011, until Thursday January 5, 2012. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/