Midnight in Paris

2011 | Comedy | 94 minutes | English

Info

Gil Pender and his fiancee Inez, are vacationing in Paris. Gil is an unfulfilled screenwriter struggling to complete his first novel. Gil loves and admires Paris and even hints at living there permanently. The materialistic Inez considers Gil a daydreamer and her goal is having a suburban home in Southern California. One night, as Gil is wandering the streets of Paris alone, a 1920s limo with passengers dressed in 1920s clothing, pulls up. The passengers urge Gil to join them. And so begins the flights of fantasy that will consume Gil. The group attends a party for Jean Cocteau and Gil is flabbergasted to see Cole Porter at the piano and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald milling around. They next go to a club to hear Josephine Baker sing. The highlight for Gil is meeting his idol, Ernest Hemingway, at a nearby bar. When Hemingway hears Gil is working on his first novel, he arranges a meeting with Gertrude Stein, a woman with a keen appreciation for artistic talent. On subsequent nights Gil meets people he has greatly admired like Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. But all these fantasy adventures end his engagement with Inez. Gilultimately decides to stay in Paris. When his lovely friend Adriana confesses she regrets not living in the past, during the Baroque period, Gil sees the light. He comes to the realization what this is all about. It’s common; it’s natural. Don’t we all think the past was always better than the present?

Cast

Owen Wilson (Gil Pender) / Rachel McAdams (Inez) / Tom Hiddleston (F. Scott Fitzgerald) / Alison Pill (Zelda Fitzgerald) / Corey Stoll (Ernest Hemingway) / Adrien Brody (Salvador Dali) / Kathy Bates (Gertrude Stein) / Marion Cotillard (Adriana)

Why Stream This Film?

Most of us, at one time or another, pine for the past. Remember the saying, “Oh, for the good old days?” We often feel life was far better “back then.” But is this really the case? Such is the theme of the wonderfully inventive film Midnight in Paris. Perhaps after seeing this film you’ll feel that yes, life in the past does seems better but, maybe it’s because it is the past. Certainly, years from now, people will look back at today and say, “Those were the good old days.”

Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics Consensus): 93%
Metacritic Score: 81

Accolades

Academy Awards: Winner, Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen); Nominated, Best Picture; Best Director (Woody Allen)
Golden Globe Awards: Best Screenplay (Woody Allen)
Writers Guild of America Awards: Best Screenplay (Woody Allen)