When I first saw the preview for “Midnight in Paris,” I thought, “Oh look, it’s Woody Allen being… Woody Allen.” What I did not see was the magic. This movie is a gem, especially for the literary aficionado. With the backdrop of one of the most beautiful and romantic cities, “Midnight in Paris” gives the audience a view of Paris in the 1920’s.
Owen Wilson plays Gil, a writer who is in love with Paris, the literary superstars of the 20’s, as well as his horrible and demeaning fiance Inez, played by Rachel McAdams. They are vacationing in Paris with Inez’s parents, who are just as horrible to Gil. However, one night, Gil wanders around Paris and finds himself lost. At midnight, an old-fashioned car pulls up, and he is invited inside. On his journey to the past he meets F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, and Gertrude Stein, just to name a few. Gil finds he’s in heaven. So each night he goes back, leaving his fiance behind and falling for Picasso’s mistress, Adriana, played by Marion Cotillard.
The beauty of this movie is in the message: everyone wants to live in another time. Every generation will feel like the best generation has already lived and died. Sometimes people have to find something worth living for in the generation they are dealt. History glamorizes the past, while the present is dull and boring. Life is what you make it. If you follow your dreams, live life to the fullest, and give everything your all, you will find that the generation you live in has been the greatest yet.