"Magic In The Moonlight" (2014)

Say what you will about Woody Allen, he knows style and dialogue. Yes, it’s a stilted period piece movie that doesn’t require “reality” to guide performances, but the comedy comes across so naturally (and theatrically) it’s worth the time.

In this romantic comedy, we first see Colin Firth as Stanley, a life cynic and egotistical snob who is a famous magician under the guise of a Chinese man. By the way, this is based on a real magician who spent a lifetime doing magic as an Asian.

Anyway, he is recruited by a fellow magician to “out” Sophie, a phony psychic played so sweetly by Emma Stone. Naturally, he ends up smitten by her. We see this coming, but it still is a wonderful journey that pits two incredibly different people. And has a great message that, while we follow life with such cynicism, it makes life MUCH more interesting if we could just believe in a little magic. And sometimes that could be in the form of love. There’s no explanation. Or science.

This is a great romantic sentiment, which is surprisingly optimistic view by an older Woody Allen. I heard a rumor years ago about how Allen get his movies made. Since I didn’t even see this one in theaters. The rumor goes, he started at a time when artists were oftentimes supported by benefactors. In New York for sure. So there is a foundation out there that just funds Woody Allen’s movies. It starts as a negative pick up, which means this benefactor picks up the costs of his movies, and a studio helps distribute it for next to no money. It’s win/win. Why? According to the story, it’s because the benefactor loves his movies. To me, this is an amazing system and quite frankly, THE very best way to make movies. Because art is internal. Something that most people are born with. The right blend of talent, moxie and tempo that a lot of us will never learn. So you support the ones that have that skill. It’s perfect. The way that movies are made today, is by committee. So, a director is just a figurehead. This system is great because you are prolonging an artist’s integrity. I think that’s what sunk people like Ridley Scott. His movies have gotten progressively stupid. With a benefactor, I would be paid just to make Ridley Scott-type movies. Yes, he has his own production company. But he still answers to studios. Unfortunately for him, it’s not a camera and a handful of people. He’s at the mercy of budget. He makes BIG movies. But consider this…”Thelma & Louise” was a tiny movie. I argue that was his last really good movie.

I digress...I highly recommend “Magic In The Moonlight.” It’s a sweet small story with fun characters and with grand scale. Plus, it is a STUNNING movie to look at. It refreshed my feeling that film has a LONG way to go before extinction. Digital can still take a back seat for a project like this.