Midnight In Paris Analysis

The film Midnight in Paris, directed by Woody Allen, was released on May 20, 2011, and took place in the city of Paris. Inez’s parents are on a business trip in Paris and Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, and her Fiancé Gil, played by Owen Wilson, tag along for the vacation. Inez’s fiancé, Gil, has a feeling that they should move to Paris once they get married, so he can pursue his dream. However, Inez does not have the same concept of thoughts and is intent on living in Malibu. Gil is a writer from Hollywood and is working on his first book as they are in Paris. However, Gil has written a lot of his book but for some reason has become stuck on some ideas. Inez’s friends pop into the picture and invite Inez and Gil to go dancing one night. Inez takes up the offer while Gil decided to walk the streets to help gather some inspiration. He is then picked up by a car and travels back to the 20’s. Gil is able to get ideas for his book from this era but also learns he may not be the one for Inez. Looking at Woody Allen’s well-constructed film, analyzing the acting, Mise en scene, and the music, there are many aspects that clearly meet the criteria of why this a phenomenal film. The first subject that is a huge contribution to the film is the acting. Woody Allen did a phenomenal job on picking the cast he did for these characters. He specifically chose these cast members because he knew that their personalities would fit the role perfectly.

Woody used many Hollywood actors that everyone would know, which would result in attracting more people to watch the film. Every time a new Hollywood actor was is introduced, Woody made sure that the scene made it clear of who was entering the scene. Take Gil for example, he is very imperfect, just like Woody, because his face is not symmetrical and has a semi wobbly walk. Woody also incorporates many writers and historians from the past to help form the film and give some insight on whom all inspires Gil and his writing. For example, when F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald was introduced into the film in the party scene, during the past, it was clear when they entered in and who they were right off the bat. Without these characters, they would have not been able to make as much sense as it does with the characters. Also, by having these characters it allows Gil to interact with these intelligent writers, from the past, and aid him in his ideas toward his book. Mise en scene is another evaluation subject that determines if the screen setting and what is shot is good in the film Mise en scene is defined as what is being shot in a film and what props and other scenery are in that shot. There are many scenes that can be evaluated through Mise en scene but one main scene that stands out is when Gil’s father in law becomes semi-ill. The way this scene is shot, you can focus more on the father-in-law easier because all the colors in the room are neutral colors that are not distracting to the eye. Another photography/videography skill that is used in this scene is the rule of thirds. When the rule of thirds is used, its purpose is to gravitate the eyes of the viewer to certain things in a specific order. In this scene, characters are placed at certain spots in the rule of thirds to make the viewers see these characters in a certain order.

The Father in law is in the middle so he is the first one to see, then the mother-in-law, and finally, Gil and Inez in the background arguing. Another concept from Mise en scene is the emotions expressed through the characters in this scene. The father-in-law shows some pain from being sick and being in discomfort. Next, the mother-in-law is panicked about her husband, but at the same time is frustrated with Inez and Gel arguing about the earrings. Inez is also panicked because of her dad and now her earrings are missing but is also upset because she thinks the house cleaner has stolen them. Lastly, Gil is also worried about his father-in-law but is also annoyed because he was about to go and meet Adriana from the 20’s and hopefully go on a date with her. However, right when he is leaving, the whole family bust through the doors because the father-in-law has become sick and this has made Gil a little upset, but he hides his anger, so no one is suspicious.

The last thing I evaluated Midnight in Paris on was the music/sounds in the present and past scenes. During the present, there is not a whole lot of music played unless Gil has a moment thinking about the past. Most of the time a lot of the noise that happens in the present is usually cars driving by and normal modern-day city sounds. Everyone in the present is too worried about different things like can I afford this and other concerning questions. This is also a reason the present is straight chaos because everyone is frantic, and nobody is just relaxing having a valuable time. All this chaos and city noise makes the present scenes seem less attractive to the viewers. The scenes that are set in the past use music from the 20’s to help give the viewer a feel of what it was like and attempted to put you in that era. All these past scenes are more chill than the present and do not have all the worrying people going crazy. There are not as many car noises in the background because not everyone could afford a car and so only wealthy people had a vehicle. Unlike in the modern-day scenes, everyone can have a car because payment methods have transformed and make it easier to own one. In every scene from the past when parties and groups of people are involved, they are not just distracted by devices and other technology.

They want to engage in conversation with everyone and get to know who they are. This, in fact, creates a more exciting environment because when you get to know someone, it helps you to connect and have an even better time with everyone. Most of the time when there would be music played it would either be at parties or just in the background, like in the streets. A lot of times when there would be music at parties it was because someone was at the piano playing something and everyone would join in and sing or dance with one another. With all these calmer and more joyful moments, it makes the past seem like no one had any major worries and that they could escape society to have a pleasurable time. In conclusion, after taking a closer look and analyzing the film Midnight in Paris, there are many scenes that can be evaluated through Acting, Mise en scene, and the music/sound of the scenes. Looking at the acting in this film, it was ridiculous how Woody Allen was able to pick the cast to fit the rolls perfectly. Another concept to evaluate was the Mise en scene, which is what is being shot in the film and what props and scenery are in that shot. In the scene where the father-in-law becomes ill, it is amazingly easy to concentrate on the father because of how neutral the colors in the room are. The rule of thirds is also used to help guide the viewers’ attention to certain things in that scene in a specific order. The last thing I evaluated over was the music/sounds of the scenes. In the present, everything is straight chaos and is less appealing to the viewer's eye and would make them not want to live there. While in the past, the environment is more calm and joyful, which makes the past seem more appealing to the viewers. As a whole, after evaluating this film thoroughly, Woody Allen’s Film, Midnight in Paris, is a phenomenal work of art.