You can practically feel the heat of the sun emanating from the screen. It's also beautifully shot using what appears to be a lot of natural light. If you can overcome that obstacle, "Magic" has many pleasures: good dialogue, a jazzy score, an element of mystery and an idyllic, summery setting.
#MOVIE MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT PROFESSIONAL#
Personal and professional complications ensue. That Sophie appears to be more taken with Stanley than he is with her practically begs for an eye roll. An Englishman (Colin Firth) is brought in to help unmask a possible swindler (Emma Stone).
Granted, the gap isn't as egregious as in some of Allen's other movies (four decades separate Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood, stars of "Whatever Works"), but let's just say that Firth seems like a guy who looks good for his age - until he's next to a woman so impeccably youthful, she's the face of Revlon. There's a nearly 30-year age difference between Firth and Stone, and while both characters are alluring in their own ways, the discrepancy can prove distracting. The most blatant of the revisited motifs is the May-December romance. Let's hope the auteur is as good at recycling his plastic bottles as he is at reusing plot points. But anyone who has seen a couple Woody Allen films will recognize aspects of his other movies, from the depressive protagonist and the mysticism, to the European vacation setting and the existentialism. If it were made by any other director, it would be heralded as a first-rate romantic comedy. The biggest problem with "Magic in the Moonlight" is its origins. Watch Video: Trailer: 'Magic In The Moonlight' But he also can't hide his surprise at how much Sophie knows about him and his family. He doesn't believe in God, much less a spirit world, and he has no intention of sugarcoating his feelings. Watching the unruffled Sophie spar with Stanley is great fun. The heir to the family's fortune, Brice (Hamish Linklater), even wants to marry her, and he lets her know by constantly, painfully serenading her with his ukulele. The only problem is that Sophie is so darn adorable, with her winning smile and upbeat attitude, that no one wants to doubt her. Stanley, who fancies himself the greatest of debunkers, can hardly contain his excitement as he sets off for France to expose Kalamazoo native Sophie Baker (Stone) and her stage mother (Marcia Gay Harden). But Howard - also a magician - can't figure out how she's levitating candles and unloading trivia about the family that no one else knows. Howard is friends with a wealthy family living in the South of France, and it appears the matriarch is being swindled by a con artist who claims to be a spiritual medium. Offensive? Yes, but keep in mind that the year is 1928.Īfter a performance in Berlin, Stanley is visited by an old friend, Howard (Simon McBurney), who needs a favor. The renowned magician can make an elephant disappear and obscure his true identity under loads of eye makeup, a kimono and a faux Fu Manchu mustache. He's positively Darcy-esque as the confoundingly appealing Stanley, an abrasive Brit who most people know as Wei Ling Soo. So watching them try to outmaneuver each other in "Magic in the Moonlight" - Woody Allen's latest period romantic comedy - is delightful.įirth once again plays a charming twerp. The film is set in the south of France in the 1920s against a backdrop of wealthy mansions, the Côte d’Azur, jazz joints and fashionable spots for the wealthy of the Jazz Age.Emma Stone and Colin Firth bring an amusing vitality to a movie, especially when they're engaged in quick-witted sparring. MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT is a romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. The film was shot by Darius Khondji (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) with Production Design by Anne Seibel (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS).Once again, Woody Allen has put together a stellar cast including Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone, and Jacki Weaver. Like BLUE JASMINE, the film is produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson. SONY PICTURES CLASSICS ACQUIRES WOODY ALLEN’S NEXT FILM MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT Film marks seventh collaboration with the filmmaker and Sony Classics NEW YORK (January 9, 2014) – Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired all North American rights to Woody Allen’s upcoming film, MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT from Gravier Productions.
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