Film Class Film A Film Suitable for a Film Class

Samuel Traylor Essay #3 • Film 101-51 - Fall 2011 • November 17, 2011

Film Class Film A Film Suitable for a Film Class

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS - WRITING

Owen Wilson with Léa Seydoux, Marion Cotillard and Rachel McAdams.

In his chapter on writing Giannetti contends that “Woody Allen is the godfather of the literary branch of the American cinema.” I agree with his assessment - Woody Allen has always been one of my favorite film directors. So what better way to illustrate the writing chapter than to show a Woody Allen film? Just about any of his films would be appropriate. Initially I narrowed it down to two of his recent films: Match Point (2005) and Midnight in Paris (2011). Both excellent films. I ultimately chose Midnight in Paris because it deals with a successful screenwriter of forgettable movies longing to become a writer of serious novels. In what becomes a mystical journey in the City of Light he encounters great writers and artists from the past who inspire him to pursue his goal. And besides, I’m a sucker for a happy ending. Walking across the Pont Neuf in the rain with Léa Seydoux - it just doesn’t get any better than that.

The Writer-Director

As we learned earlier this semester the “director is the dominant artist in [the] best movies”. The screenwriter is considered to be merely a collaborator. Giannetti notes that on occasion the screenwriter has been considered the “author” of a film but in general the screenwriter’s role “varies immensely from film to film and from director to director”. If, however, you write and direct your film you essentially have total control. Such is the case with Woody Allen.

Samuel Traylor 2 You know when you are watching a Woody Allen film. It typically involves an ensemble cast of exceptional actors, the dialogue is scintillating, funny and intelligent, the screenplay is literate, sophisticated and addresses complex themes. And there is almost always a Woody Allen character. It is the work of a master writer-director. Midnight in Paris is a prime example.

Some Literary Examples

During the course of the film the Woody Allen character, Gil Pender, encounters great novelists, playwrights, painters, songwriters, bullfighters, filmmakers, poets, art collectors and photographers. To understand some of the episodes requires a certain degree of cultural literacy. For example:

One midnight when Gil enters the vintage car that takes him back to the 1920s he discovers that his fellow passenger is T. S. Eliot. Gil jokingly remarks to Eliot, “Where I come from, people measure out their lives in coke spoons.” This is in reference to a line in one of Eliot’s greatest poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” It is important to note that in this scene Gil identifies himself with Prufrock’s character which represents aging and decay.

In another instance, at a wedding party Gil suggests to Luis Buñuel that he make a film where a group of guests sit down to dinner and later find that they cannot leave the house. “But why not?” Bunuel asks. “They just can’t” Gil explains. Buñuel is confused but in 1962 makes an art film entitled The Exterminating Angel about a group of guests who sit down to dinner and later find that they cannot leave the house. They just can’t. The 1960s are considered to be the Golden Era of the Art Film. See Theme below.

Roger Ebert noted in his review of the film that despite these sometimes intimidating literary references Woody Allen tries “to make the movie charming even for someone who was texting all during high school”. Thus it should pass muster with most Film Class students - particularly toward the end of the semester when most of the students have become reasonably film literate.

Theme - Nostalgia and Golden Eras

Gil wants to be a writer of serious literature. His fiancé prefers that he be a financially successful screenwriter rather than a struggling novelist. Gil idolizes the era of the Lost Generation in Paris

Samuel Traylor 3 as a cultural and artistic Golden Age. During a trip to Versailles he is accused by his wife’s pedantic friend of being trapped by Golden Age Thinking.

One night while wandering the streets of Paris he is picked up by a group of people in a vintage car and embarks on a magical mystery tour. He is taken to a party where he meets the F. Scott Fitzgeralds and Cole Porter. Later he is introduced to Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein. Gil is where he thinks he is supposed to be. His artistic ambitions are supported and encouraged. He even meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman named Adriana who shares his passion for the arts. He travels back forth between the present and the 1920s while furiously working on his novel.

Then one night Gil and Adriana are transported to the late 1800s (Belle Époque). Adriana wants to remain in that era because her present is dull. But even the resident artists of the Belle Époque pine for the Renaissance. Gil has an epiphany - we tend to glorify the past because of the dissatisfaction with our own lives. (“The present is a little unsatisfying because life’s a little unsatisfying . . . Now, if I ever want to write something worthwhile, I need to get rid of my illusion that I’ll be happier in the past.”). He then frees himself from his Golden Age Thinking and Prufrockian dark cloud (see above) and finds the courage to get out of his engagement, stay in Paris and pursue his dreams. As he crosses the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) to his new found freedom he happens to run into Gabrielle. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship - it is after all a romantic comedy.

Lots of stuff here for a Film Class bull session. For example: Can we learn things from the past without idolizing it? Do Tea Partiers want to “Take America Back” because they are not satisfied with their lives? Inquiring minds want to know.

Mise en Scène

A large part of what draws you to this film is Paris itself. The movie begins with an extended establishing shot consisting of a post-card montage of famous Parisian sites. According to Kenneth Turan of the LA Times, “Allen is saying: Pay attention -- this is a special place, a place where magic can happen.”

I would need to watch the film again, but based on some of the still shots in my Character Analysis (see attached) it appears that scenes involving the present were shot in natural, balanced color while scenes shot in the past were shot in a more subdued, red-dominated colors probably

Samuel Traylor 4 to accentuate the nostalgia theme. Nothing is more nostalgic that watching Gil and Adriana walk the streets of 1920s Paris with an instrumental version of Parlez-moi d’amour playing in the background. This song (Speak to Me of Love in English) was written in 1930 by Jean Lenoir and became a major hit in France for Lucienne Boyer in the 1930s. Paris is a major character in this film.

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