There is still much to like, however. The film tells the story of Gil (Owen Wilson), a Hollywood screenwriter who dreams of writing a serious novel. He visits Paris with his fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her wealthy parents and is enamoured with the city, walking its streets and fantasising about the great artists and writers who inhabited it in the 1920s. On his walks at midnight every night, he enters a carriage that actually transports him to the 1920s where he meets people like Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and Salvador Dali.
Even if you don't know these people, it's still easy to get caught up in Gil's enthusiasm. Owen Wilson creates a very likeable character whose adulation for his literary idols makes them look good on the screen. He has a charming relationship with Adriana (Marion Cotillard), mistress of Picasso and a student of fashion. However, though their relationship is enjoyable to watch, it is not enough to sustain the movie.
Which brings us back to the first point. There is a scene where Gil sits in a café with Dalí, Buñuel and Man Ray. He tries to explain to them that he is travelling in time between the 21st century and the 1920s. Dalí, without humour, explains that this is perfectly normal and he states that he often feels similarly himself. Exasperated, Gil replies 'Yes, but you're a surrealist!'. If you find that kind of thing funny, then this may be your kind of movie.
1 comment:
woot i finally saw this one :) I agree Owen Wilson's character is pretty cute, feels like the sort of character woody allen used to play himself. So maybe Owen wilson will grow up to be woody allen.
Yeah i dont have alot of cultural literacy either, so i mightve missed some of the little injokes that THE THIRD MAN crowd might have guffawed at :S. But i do reckon that the 1920's personalities were pretty easy to recognise/understand; as in each personality's most "famous" trait (gathered from what we've read or heard like Gil says) is brought out heaps more. So you get alot of colourful characters that you eventually realise don't have alot of depth, because for Gil it wouldnt be quite the same as meeting a character in the present? like the recordshop chick and the tour guide. I figured this was a deliberate part of what Woody allen was saying about the belle epoque being the present, or maybe i just dont get the depth of the 1920's characters.
But i have a question umm if its always better to live in and appreciate the beauty of the present time, does it work similarly for places (i.e you focus on appreciating your hometown) or should one be more selective? Like are some places just more beautiful than others?
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