Teaser pitch for Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris
The love triangle between Tom, Gil and Cecilia is the sweetest part in the ‘The Purple Rose of Cairo’ has a real connection with the viewer. Tom is genuine in his love for Cecilia yet she can’t see it and decides to offer herself to Gil who is only after his career which hangs in the balance if Gil does not place back his place. However the plot is a good illustration of a romantic city from a tourist’s perspective as the director works hard to portray. The scene carries most of the mystical elements the movie has as well as the nostalgia and the playfulness Woody Allen’s puts throughout the movie. Allen also has deeply put his delightfulness and more emotional depth in this movie as is the case for most of his movies. The movie generally carries the pinning and contemplation about love as much as it is delightful.
The most character who has the chemistry with others and the viewer is Gil and he is also a likeable personality. He is the male protagonist in the movie who has love chemistry with most of the women characters in the movie even though he is portrayed without heart as the core of the whole story. The movie starts with a view of Paris mostly its romantic beauty side with little glimpse of the backside occupied by locals. The theme is also more enhanced by the jazz that is mostly French flavored. This moves from depicting a day in Paris from the morning to sunset to a starry night when the beauty of the city blooms. At first the tourists are mostly featured with the ancient landmarks of the city featured beautifully which is used in depicting the merging of the present and the future.
Owen Wilson takes the character of Gil a screenwriter and makes a personal journey in search of inspiration for a book he is writing. The adventure starts one day when he is drunk and wandering in the city while his fiancée is dancing with friends. Scenes unfold with him getting involved with legendary artists as well as among expatriates and flappers. His dreams are reawakened with the artists who lived in the city in the second half of the twentieth century and they get to inspire him creatively for example Stein Gertrude proofreading his novel. It is a nostalgic book about a shopkeeper and so Gil gets a chance to interact with historical past of the city and is inspired by the legends.
The ending scene is a scene that evokes most feeling in the movie and also reveals Allen’s love for male protagonist in his movie as well as deep emotional romance theme. Gil has met Cecilia a strikingly beautiful woman who also has a broken past and searching for lasting love. Tom is another man who has done well in his career and scores the shots in directing a movie. Tom is in deep love with Cecilia and has devoted to care for her and her future. Cecilia however is more attracted to the enthusiastic as well as playful personality of Gil. This leads to her longing for him and does much to appeal his heart to her love. Tom however is in the middle of a journey for inspiration and has a fiancée. Tom is far back at the mind of Cecilia are simply said imaginary.
In the end Cecilia disowns herself and her attractions rather than live in a lustful and fake relationship with Gil. For this reason she chooses to live with the imaginary tom rather than follow Gil who is after adventure and not consistency in life. This scene is hurriedly created since the director finds that for a captivating and memorable end to such a movie, love and drama have to be included. Romance is displayed in a continual sequence of events even though the real chemistry between character especially Gil and Cecilia is missing. Alternatively, their relationship ends in a state that leaves the viewer in apposition they will find as almost normal. The fantasy that is intended to be created does not come out strongly and a more connecting character of Cecilia such as Jennifer Love Hewitt would have done the scene perfectly. Gil does not fully connect with her. Secondly, the ending is almost predictable and it is not a very good idea for a romantic scene such as this one. Woody should have added a stronger reason for the reason Gil and Cecilia can’t get together and move with each other. A stronger connection with the viewer would have been made then rather than the simple reason that Gil is start his dream in acting and wants his place back and so uses Cecilia.
The movie reminds me of Allen’s ‘The Purple Rose in Cairo’. The backdrop of the feminine city as well as the journey Gil makes and his interaction with the past. The emotional depth attained also is almost similar to the purple rose in Cairo as well as the romance displayed in this film. The display of creativity by the legendary artists might cost the production of the movie. The marketing however is also easy especially with a trailer of the movie featuring the legendary artists such as Gertrude stein. The strong word that makes the juicy romance is what should market the movie even more. All in all, the movie is good enough for an award in classic romance movies.
"The Purple Rose in Cairo’: Woody Allen". Film Reviews. No Ripcord. Retrieved on 14 March 2012.
