4 • The Southwest Portland Post FEATURES September 2011 Woody Allen’s “Midnight In Paris” reflects on the artists of the Roaring ‘20s MOVIE REVIEW By Stephanie Lodromanean Special to The Southwest Portland Post When you think of Woody Allen, maybe a sheep comes to mind or a bumbling romantic that can’t seem to keep a pretty girl, but is only charm- ing some of the time. That stereotype isn’t entirely vacant from “Midnight in Paris”, but the beautiful picture the film creates in its 94 minutes definitely offers another hat for Allen to wear in his career of acting, writing, making films--and that is of an artist. Allen wrote and directed. The cinematography for the film was by Johanne Debas and Darius Khondji. Although he is not directly in front of the camera like he is in many of his other films, “Midnight in Paris” defi- nitely feels like a Woody Allen film. The romantic comedy has many hi- larious moments, often born out of the misunderstanding created between couples that just don’t fit together. Our leading man Gil (played by Owen Wilson) falls down a rabbit hole in the Paris night to live and breath among the great artistic giants of the Roaring ‘20s. Anyone that is in love with the history of Paris or the artists, which shape our modern view of the arts, will be tickled by this film. Allen takes what we’ve learned dili- gently from our history classes about American authors who found solace in the City of Splendor such as Ger- trude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Er- nest Hemingway, and transforms them. We see a lively and talkative Gertrude Stein (played by Kathy Bates). Corey Stoll brings a larger-than-life Ernest Hemingway onto the big screen much like we would expect him to be. Adrian Brody hilariously plays a very surreal Salvador Dali. Allen even enlisted model and singer Carla Bruni (recently married to French President Nicolas Sarkozy) to play a tour guide in the film. The characters in “A Midnight in Paris” brilliantly display the types of reactions most people have to art: a deep appreciation for it, an attempt to be the next great artist, and those that really don’t care for art. The interactions between Gil and his fiancé Inez (played wonderfully by Rachel McAdams) demonstrates a couple who care for entirely different things, but try to still maintain a relationship anyway. The film follows a relationship which is obviously not meant to be, but the interactions that come from Inez and Gil are hilarious and keep LOCK IN YOUR PRICE FOR ONE YEAR NO NO Eq St to B uip ar m t- uy! en Up t Co st s! NOW GET OVER 150 CHANNELS LOCAL CHANNELS INCLUDED * in over 97% of the U.S. 29 $ LIMITED TIME ONLY love with Paris, if not for the amazing characters of the Lost Generation that Allen recreates on the big screen. At press time this film was playing at the Hollywood Theater, CineMagic on Hawthorne Boulevard, and the Re- gal Fox Tower 10 downtown. PPPP (Four out of five stars) you wondering how Gil is going to continuously sneak out and discover himself in the Paris night. “Midnight in Paris” will appeal to many different film viewers; it provides romance, comedy and a bit of history. The film is beautifully directed and will have you falling in Macadam Jail for August 24 to hear an appeal by the South Portland Neighborhood As- sociation within the time frame of the state’s 120-day rule for the processing of land use applications. An applicant such as Lindquist can extend the mandatory time frame at will and, according to City planner Douglas Hardy, they have done that in this case. An appeal hearing to City Council has been set for September 21. (Continued from Page 3) flow, that it should not be located across the street from the Southwest Charter School, and that its operations overall posed a safety hazard. The ruling against the ICE facility came as a shock to most observers. City staff had been so sure that the application would be approved that they scheduled a City Council session When I am home ALONE I feel safe. I am protected. I have Life Alert ® . 99 ^ mo. Marion Cotillard and Owen Wilson in a scene from Woody Allen's film, “Mid- night in Paris.” (Courtesy Sony Picture Classics) FOR 12 MONTHS The CHOICE™ packag e After rebate All offers require 2 year agreement.** Offer ends 10/5/11. Credit card required (except in MA & PA). New approved customers only (lease required). $19.95 Handling & Delivery fee may apply. Package pricing may vary in certain markets. help One touch of a button sends quickly in the event of a medical emergency, fall, home invasion, fi re or carbon monoxide poisoning. New! 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