By Alex Vidiani
Elm Staff Writer
Another semester is coming to an end amidst sighs of disappointment, or relief, depending on your major. Seems fair to say that (well, mostly) everyone deserves to sit back and rest easy. And what better way to do that then with a good movie? Here’s a final recommendation for the semester: “A Midnight In Paris.”
Yes, yes, it came out a fairly long time ago, but it just never seems to get old. It’s one of those rare movies that, if you let it, will wrap you up in its magical time again and again, each time you watch it. You might know what’s going to happen, but you’ll notice something new that maybe you didn’t see the last time around. But you have to be open to it. This film has many, many great scenes that an English or French major, for instance, would find utterly delightful, but I feel like anyone could enjoy it if they watched it with an open mind.
Now if I go to in-depth with the plot, I’ll spoil the surprises, so let’s just say Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams are having a pre-honeymoon in Paris with her parents. Wilson, a romantic (capital R and lowercase r), is completely enraptured by the city, but McAdams and her parents couldn’t care less. So, one semi-drunken night, Wilson is walking around Paris at midnight and…well that’s all I can say. It’s borderline magical though, rest assured.
Like many great films, it’s set in the majestically beautiful city of Paris. Paris, it should be noted, becomes a character in herself, as she is wont to do in cinema. Electricity flows through her, and if you’re so poetically inclined, you can see how she dances in each scene. You can see this in the ripples of La Seine, to the glittering lights of La Tour d’Eiffel, to the simple streetlamps that dot the streets. One line in particular stuck out: “That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me.” Forgive the overt pretentiousness, but I wholeheartedly agree; nothing could be truer.
So, if you love fine literature, aestheticism, France, or Owen Wilson in France, you’ve got the right film to watch in “A Midnight in Paris,” trust me.
On one final note, I’d just like to thank all mes amis in The Elm who work hard each and every week to publish such a great newspaper. And extra special thanks to Amanda Whitaker who has been truly a lovely editor, and will be thoroughly missed next year. Good-bye and bonne chance!