Review: Midnight in Paris (2011)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really enjoyed the movie, “Midnight in Paris.” It was a surprise hit that was whimsical, thoughtful, and different than most movies out there.

“Midnight in Paris” is about a man named Gil (Gilbert) Pender. Gil is in Paris, France with his fiancé. The two spend the days in Paris enjoying the city and planning the two’s wedding. Gil is a writer. He finds Paris to be a beautiful place that inspires him. He falls in love with the romance, the sentiment, and love in the City of Lights.

One evening Gil is by himself as he walks through the empty streets of Paris. Somehow, he walks into a party… a party that is set in a different time. At the party, Gil meets great creative minds of the 1920’s. He meets the writer named F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife. Fitzgerald’s wife is named Zelda Fitzgerald. F. Scott Fitzgerald is known for writing the wonderful classic book named The Great Gatsby.

Gil also meets Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway is a thoughtful and a serious man. Hemingway is famous for writing famous novels like The Sun Also Rises.

Finally, he meets Pablo Picasso, the painter.

Gil tries to take his fiancé through the doorway to the past, but the world is lost to her. Gil goes back to the same street one night after the next to visit with the great minds he has met. He goes to learn from them, to party with them, and to enjoy the sights of Paris.

At one of the parties he meets an alluring girl named Adriana. Adriana is different than his fiancé. Gil must grapple with the question: “Should he stay with his fiancé or pursue something with someone that he may never see again?”

In the end, Gil is changed by his experience with the great thinkers like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. His whole life changes and moves toward a different direction than the one he planned because of his time spent in the past.

The movie, “Midnight in Paris,” was sentimental and filled with whimsy. I found myself falling in love with Paris by seeing the city through Gil’s eyes.

This movie is up there on my list of great movies that are set in foreign locations. I give this movie a 5-star rating.

Luca Lane