MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT
DIRECTOR: Woody Allen
CAST: Colin Firth, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Hamish Linklater
CLASSIFICATION: 10 PG D
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes
RATING: ***
IF IT wasn’t for Firth’s committed performance, Allen’s period piece would be all over the place.
In comparison to his previous film set in France, Magic in the Moonlight is rather slight, though it isn’t bad enough rip apart in a serious way.
It’s just kind of megh when compared with some of the rich character studies he has produced, such as Blue Jasmine, Vicky Christina Barcelona or Deconstructing Harry.
Firth plays debunker of the mystical, Stanley Crawford, who gets called in by friend Howard Burkan (McBurney) to prove psychic Sophie Baker (Stone) is a fraud.
Stanley is a grouchy, arrogant stick-in-the-mud, a total old grinch who despite himself is drawn to the much younger Sophie’s sunny disposition and quirky charm. Okay, so check one for the director’s favourite motif, old man and very much younger woman.
The idea of the burgeoning relationship between Stanley and Sophie screams rom-com, but there are no laughs and the romance is lacking because there is nothing charming about Stanley. Why she is attracted to him we don’t see, and we never get a sense of them actually getting to know each other.
What we do see right from the beginning is the set-up and eventual denouement, so the plot, such as it is, becomes repetitive.
There was a greater sense of the ineffable in the sense of enchantment in Midnight in Paris, whereas here the magic is of the staged variety.
The sense of wonder in Magic in the Moonlight lies very much in the presentation of the Cote d’Azur as an idyllic playground for the rich in the 1920s. The specific era is evoked in nostalgic bucketloads, but to what end?
The central conceit that gets hinted at – whether there really is a great beyond – never gets delved into properly because the director puts too much faith in the audience just going with the flow and not questioning the suddenly pat ending when so much went into sending us in another direction.
Firth does a great job balancing his belief in the pre-eminence of cold scientific reason with the very human desire for faith, but again, to what end?
Then again, Allen on a bad day is still better than many directors on a good one.
If you liked Fading Gigolo or You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger, you will like this.