Autumn Views...

Midnight In Paris- 3 stars ***

I saw that Marion Cotillard was in this and instantly wanted to see it before even knowing what it was about, as I adore her! However, I was surprised by a few other names when looking at her co-stars - Owen Wilson and Rachael McAdams made me instantly think the film must be a rom-com, and then I saw Michael Sheen and Adrian Brody, and that it is directed by Woody Allen, and it appeared there must be more to it than meets the eye. So I ventured to the cinema to see what to make of it.

The storyline is fairly simple, Gil and Inez (Owen and McAdams) are an engaged couple from America who tag along to Paris with Inez's parents for a holiday. Writer Gil embraces the French way of life, while Inez struggles to accept the relaxed and cultured sophistication that it offers, favouring shopping and spending time with Paul (Sheen) and Carol, some friends that they bump into whilst they are out. One evening, a drunken Gil gets lost, and on the stroke of midnight, an old fashioned car pulls up containing a group of partygoers dressed in 1920s clothing, an era Gil is particularly fascinated with. They invite him to join them, and take him to a bar, where upon meeting the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Cole Porter and F. Scott Fitzgerald he begins to realise that he has been transported back in time.

Following his revelation, he continues to adventure back to the same place every night at midnight, where he meets more famous faces, such as Picasso and Salvador Dali (Brody) and gets his book read by famous writer and poet Gertrude Stein. It is on his midnight jaunts that he meets Picasso's mistress Adriana (Cotillard) and falls for her. Meanwhile his fiancée is having an affair with Paul, who is one of those annoying people who appears to know everything, and lets you know about it.

This film has a good idea at the heart of it - that everyone is nostalgic to a certain degree and wishes for a more perfect era, but it just doesn't quite get there. It is never explained why or how Gil manages to time travel, and personally, I feel that Owen Wilson wasn't the correct choice of actor for the part. If someone a little less comic had been chosen, then the film would have had a completely different, and perhaps more subtle, feel to it. Instead, it seems over-acted in parts, and he portrays a caricature of a struggling novelist, rather than it being that convincing.

Cotillard, as ever, is beautiful as Adriana, and many of the other actors are very believable in their roles, I especially enjoyed Alison Pill as ballsy Zelda Fitzgerald, and Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway was magnificent.

Aside from the plot difficulties, aesthetically it is a gorgeous production. As a fan of the decadence of the 20s, especially in Paris, I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back to a time where fashion roams free, decor is elaborate and architecture is revolutionary. It was worth a watch just for the visual feast!