When a film maker I admire and who has been a great influence on me for most of my life is accused an absolutely abhorrent act, well I've spent years, not really in denial, possibly an apologist for him.
If I could go back in time to try Woody Allen, I'd rather see that than all the vitriol that goes around now whenever he has a new film out.
It seems like a formula now. Allen releases a film. Ronan Farrow makes a snarky tweet. Mia defends her brave son. People rush to judgement all over again. Heaven help us if he gets an Oscar nomination.
Hollywood and the press are fickle, and always in denial about their acceptance of, well a standing ovation for man who fled from sentencing in Roman Polanski says it all.
The real victim here will always be Dylan Farrow, whether or not her mother Mia coached her (very unlikely) or if Allen did rape her (more likely than not), she has definitely suffered serious trauma.
And all the open letters, creepy Woody Allen interviews and Ronan Farrow teases that he may be Frank Sinatra's son do not make a case.
Trial by internet does not help. I do not believe it ever will.
Showing posts with label woody allen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label woody allen. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
If the world shifted on its axis a few months ago, it might be due to Woody Allen releasing an anti-nostalgia film.
Midnight in Paris asks the question, "Is it better to live in your own time, than one you fantasize about?"
Owen Wilson is an admitted hack of a screenwriter who travels to Paris with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams) and her wealthy parents. Wilson is trying to break with his image by writing a novel and is obsessed with 1920's Paris - the city of American ex-pats and foreign artists.
After an evening out with friends of McAdams, Wilson gets lost in the streets and is invited into a 1920 Peugeot Landaulet
Where he arrives is where the fun starts, and it reminded me of some of Allen's fiction, mainly The Kugelmass Episode.
Wilson runs into some well known characters, and offers up some wonderful throwaway lines regarding the value of Matisse paintings. He also falls in love with a muse, beautifully played by Marion Cotillard.
It's revealed that Cotillard's character wishes to live in another time as well, and people in other eras have similar wishes. In the end, some dreams are realized, others are not but there's a bit of hope for all of us.
It's the most enjoyable Allen film I've seen in years but it's not without its flaws. While lovely to look at, McAdams is way out of her comedic depth and her parents are extremely superficial. I can't see the two main characters as a couple. Wilson is perfect in the role Allen would have done himself thirty years ago.
Midnight in Paris asks the question, "Is it better to live in your own time, than one you fantasize about?"
Owen Wilson is an admitted hack of a screenwriter who travels to Paris with his fiancee (Rachel McAdams) and her wealthy parents. Wilson is trying to break with his image by writing a novel and is obsessed with 1920's Paris - the city of American ex-pats and foreign artists.
After an evening out with friends of McAdams, Wilson gets lost in the streets and is invited into a 1920 Peugeot Landaulet
Where he arrives is where the fun starts, and it reminded me of some of Allen's fiction, mainly The Kugelmass Episode.
Wilson runs into some well known characters, and offers up some wonderful throwaway lines regarding the value of Matisse paintings. He also falls in love with a muse, beautifully played by Marion Cotillard.
It's revealed that Cotillard's character wishes to live in another time as well, and people in other eras have similar wishes. In the end, some dreams are realized, others are not but there's a bit of hope for all of us.
It's the most enjoyable Allen film I've seen in years but it's not without its flaws. While lovely to look at, McAdams is way out of her comedic depth and her parents are extremely superficial. I can't see the two main characters as a couple. Wilson is perfect in the role Allen would have done himself thirty years ago.
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