Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Midnight in Paris is a charming, sun-drenched (and moonlit) love letter to Paris and nostalgia, with gorgeous cinematography by Darius Khondji that makes the city itself the film's greatest asset — easily a 4. The time-travel conceit is whimsical but Allen has mined similar nostalgia-vs-present territory before, keeping Novelty solidly above average but not exceptional. The plot is light and functional — a pleasant vehicle for ideas about idealization of the past rather than a deeply constructed narrative. Acting is warm and enjoyable (Owen Wilson, Corey Stoll as Hemingway stands out) but broadly sketched rather than deeply inhabited. The ending resolves neatly and satisfyingly, consistent with the film's breezy tone without being particularly memorable.