Midnight in Paris

I saw Midnight in Paris years ago, and I just watched it again. Honestly, it was just as charming and clever the second time around. While I usually reserve my cinema posts for French-language films, I couldn’t resist writing about this one. It may be in English, but it captures the spirit of Paris so beautifully that it feels right at home here. Plus, I enjoyed it so much, I had to make an exception.

The French, of course, have a reputation for loving Woody Allen’s work—his films often receive a warmer reception in France than anywhere else. Watching Midnight in Paris, it’s easy to see why: it’s a romantic, nostalgic ode to art, literature, and the city itself—an ideal blend for a country that reveres all three.

Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris (2011) is a romantic fantasy steeped in nostalgia, with a dash of intellectual wit and just the right amount of magical realism. The film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a disillusioned Hollywood screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who finds himself wandering the streets of Paris, wistfully yearning for the artistic golden age of the 1920s. One night, at the stroke of midnight, a vintage car pulls up beside him, and he is transported to the very era he idolizes—rubbing elbows with the likes of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Salvador Dalí. In college, I read several Fitzgerald and Hemingway novels, so seeing them depicted in the film added an extra bit of nostalgia for me.

As is typical in many of Allen’s films, Midnight in Paris boasts an impressive ensemble cast, with well-known actors making memorable cameos in historical roles. Corey Stoll is a scene-stealer as the intense, stoic Hemingway; Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill are pitch-perfect as the Fitzgeralds; Kathy Bates brings authority and warmth to Gertrude Stein. Marion Cotillard adds emotional depth and mystery as Adriana, a fictional muse who draws Gil deeper into the past. Adrien Brody’s Salvador Dalí is wildly entertaining, while brief but effective appearances from actors like Léa Seydoux and Gad Elmaleh add a distinctly French flavor to the film. Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, and Kurt Fuller round out the contemporary cast, playing Gil’s less-than-supportive fiancée and her pompous circle of friends.

Allen’s screenplay is brisk, clever, and full of literary and artistic references that will delight those familiar with the figures of the Lost Generation. The portrayals, while stylized, are surprisingly well-researched and historically grounded. Hemingway, for example, is written with such dry machismo and poetic conviction that he becomes both a parody and an homage.

The film also excels in its cinematography. Darius Khondji’s warm, golden palette captures the romantic essence of Paris—the early morning light on the Seine, the dim glow of streetlamps in Montmartre, the elegance of rain-soaked cobblestones. It even features several scenes at the Le Bristol, a symbol of Parisian elegance—and my personal favorite luxury hotel in the city. From the opening montage alone, it’s clear that this is a film in love with the city, and it invites the viewer to fall in love with it too.

At its core, Midnight in Paris is not just a nostalgic romp through literary history; it’s a meditation on the human tendency to idealize the past, which I am known to do. Gil’s journey reveals the trap of romanticizing bygone eras, and the film subtly encourages viewers to embrace the present with the same passion we reserve for the past.

Charming, witty, and quietly profound, Midnight in Paris is a film that rewards both casual viewers and cultural aficionados alike. It’s not only one of Woody Allen’s most accessible works, but also one of his most emotionally resonant. Whether you’re a lover of Paris, literature, art, or simply a good story, this film offers a little bit of magic.