I waited for the trademark Woody stutter to come out of Wilson's and McAdams' mouths, and it did eventually. McAdams (I wrote about her in Morning Glory after seeing her in State of Play and Sherlock Holmes) starts out sweet but slowly morphs into one of Woody's usual mean girls (ha!). Cotillard (I mentioned her in Public Enemies, Nine, Inception) is lovely as always, and Adriana's being mistress to more than one gifted artist reminded me that Mia Farrow was married to Frank Sinatra and André Previn as well as Allen (and, rumor has it, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was attracted to her, too).
The supporting cast is superb, including Michael Sheen (The Queen (2006), Frost/Nixon, The Damned United) as a pompous American professor (doesn't Woody always have one of those in each movie as well?), Mimi Kennedy (Dharma & Greg, In the Loop) and Kurt Fuller (Woody the coroner in Psych, among many small parts) as Inez' parents, Alison Pill (after I wrote about her in Milk she was in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki in Thor) as Zelda and Scott (one blogger referred to Zelda as Scott's mother. They'll let just anyone write a blog. Hmph) (and if you don't get that, perhaps you should either skip the movie or do some research first), Kathy Bates (I listed my favorites in Chéri and liked her small part in Revolutionary Road) as Gertrude, Corey Stoll (I don't remember him in Salt but he's outstanding here as Ernest), and, much publicized, Carla Bruni, the first lady of France, as a tour guide at the Rodin museum. This movie bears some similarity to Allen's Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), in which Farrow's character Cecilia travels into a glamorous movie starring Jeff Daniels. For more on my love for Allen's work, though not his lifestyle, read Whatever Works, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Some trivia: Allen apparently abandoned the project five years ago because shooting in Paris was too expensive. But this sure looked like Paris, including landmarks such as l'Orangerie (home of the huge water lilies murals), Moulin Rouge, Montmartre, etc. Also, according to imdb: "This is the first Woody Allen film to go through a digital intermediate, instead of being color timed in the traditional photochemical way. According to Allen, its use here is a test to see if he likes it enough to use on his future films." That may explain some of the bright colors in some of the establishing shots.
Another Allen convention is no composer but a long list of songs, some performed by Cole (Yves Heck). I found a list on the iTunes France site, but it's not available here yet, and does not include any of the Heck performances, if, in fact, he performed them. Here are some other comments on the music.
Speaking of comments, here's some reading for after you see the movie, due to spoilers: production notes from the movie's website, a historical deconstruction from the New York Times, and David Denby's review in The New Yorker (I hope you can connect to those sites). Lastly, the winner of the Midnight in Paris 10 word review contest: Woody rebounds with Back to the Future for literature majors. She (the winner) used the word "rebound" because some feel Allen has been off his game. Whether or not you agree, you should definitely make your way to your local theatre and see this one.
Oh, and my Rule #2 for movies is strongly observed, start to finish.
Some trivia: Allen apparently abandoned the project five years ago because shooting in Paris was too expensive. But this sure looked like Paris, including landmarks such as l'Orangerie (home of the huge water lilies murals), Moulin Rouge, Montmartre, etc. Also, according to imdb: "This is the first Woody Allen film to go through a digital intermediate, instead of being color timed in the traditional photochemical way. According to Allen, its use here is a test to see if he likes it enough to use on his future films." That may explain some of the bright colors in some of the establishing shots.
Another Allen convention is no composer but a long list of songs, some performed by Cole (Yves Heck). I found a list on the iTunes France site, but it's not available here yet, and does not include any of the Heck performances, if, in fact, he performed them. Here are some other comments on the music.
Speaking of comments, here's some reading for after you see the movie, due to spoilers: production notes from the movie's website, a historical deconstruction from the New York Times, and David Denby's review in The New Yorker (I hope you can connect to those sites). Lastly, the winner of the Midnight in Paris 10 word review contest: Woody rebounds with Back to the Future for literature majors. She (the winner) used the word "rebound" because some feel Allen has been off his game. Whether or not you agree, you should definitely make your way to your local theatre and see this one.
Oh, and my Rule #2 for movies is strongly observed, start to finish.
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