Magic in the Moonlight (2014, Cinema) – Can Woody Allen ever achieve a score higher than 7 out of 10? Who knows. After a routine lambasting on the podcast about how film directors (e.g. Ridley Scott) should be taking a year off in order to focus on the quality of their work, Woody Allen included, along comes Magic in the Moonlight to once again prove me wrong. I dunno what it is about Allen of late, but certainly in this decade, he seems to be knocking them out of the park. And so to Magic in the Moonlight, starring Colin Firth and Emma Roberts. It’s set in 1928, and we open in Germany to see the fantastic Asian Wang Tse Tung, or whatever his stage name actually was, perform common magic tricks such as sawing women in half and disappearing in a box to appear in a swivel chair. Underneath this Oriental mystic persona is Colin Firth; a lifelong, devoted magician who’s friend has asked him to critically debunk and defraud a new, young American psychic who’s appeared on the scene, played by Emma Roberts. He visits her in the south of France – eagerly awaiting the chance to dispel her entire psychic ability. He’ll go on to absolutely fall for her powers, and fall in love with her. The less said about what occurs thereafter, the better. Woody Allen is, to all men, the existential nightmare to all men. All of his films contain some ludicrous answer to life and love and the pursuit of happiness. Magic in the Moonlight is no different in terms of the narrative scourge; can love conquer all? In this manifest of magic, psychic ability and showmanship – of course it can. It can, but in ways we probably will not actually figure out. Sure, the usual tropes of elongated scenes of walking and talking permeate the meager 97 minute running time. But then again, we don’t go to Allen movies for the blockbuster quotient, do we? This is routine, walky-talky stuff – and, if you , like me, enjoy the musings, then you’ll have a blast with Firth’s lead performance, and Emma Roberts shining up the screen. There are some ponderous moments to grasp and have fun with – is life, spirituality and psychic ability actually akin to real life and love? And if not, who cares? And if so, do we possess the ability to forego our own practical sense of self-worth and realism in favour of falling in love? Everyone in magic in the Moonlight is egomaniacal and out to get what they want; the hunky ukulele-playing baby boomer proposes to Emma Roberts, promising to wash her with gifts. But then there’s Colin Firth, slowly succumbing to the talents of Roberts, and – against his better, cynical judgment – starts to throw away all he holds dear in favour of his heart. It’s a common theme in Allen’s film; love, life and all that we hold dear. But seldom is it played as richly as it is here. This is a wonderful little gem of a film with some minor flaws. But I’ve had a bottle and a half of red wine, and I really, really liked it. A lot. (7/10)
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 23:23:45 +0000
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