Every summer one thing is certain…Woody Allen will indulge us with his latest ensemble cast, set someplace in Europe, to some ‘caper-style’ Jazz music as the movie opens. And this one is no different, except you probably won’t like it as much as say Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona. s vanilla films. Annie Hall would be chocolate pistachio.
Enter Colin Firth in a Fu Manchu style mustache (and unrecognizable) until he removes his illusionist garb….that’s because in this film Woody moves from Midnight in Paris to moonlight and magic, literally. Stanley Crawford (Firth) is a gifted magician who comes across Sophie (Emma Stone), a younger more talented magician…‘a visionary’ who can see the past, present and the future. She’s the toast of the Cote d’Azur. Sophie specializes in “Mental Vibrations” and she’s picking up the vibe that Colin a.k.a. Stanley Crawford has some vibes towards her.
Sophie is to marry a boring young man (Hamish Linklater) who is an odd cross between JFK Jr, and Tiny Tim, which will make sense when you see him playing his ukulele in a V neck Ivy League sweater. He’s boring, though promising her the world, travel, yachts, hat boxes full of gifts, and motorcars. But again, he’s boring.
As the tables turn, Colin’s sixth sense kicks in and he believes in coincidence. He must grab onto something tangible as personal emotions overtake his business sense. “What are illusions, what are lies?” How does one get to a point of what’s real and what’s not? His Aunt Vanessa (Eileen Atkins) – though understanding Colin is an elegant man of stature and science – suggests he might follow his heart instead of his head, or in his case, his magic. Turns out the biggest trick of all is the magical chemistry between the two magicians. And his business manager, Howard Berkin (Simon McBurney).
Of course there is no trickery in this Mr. Darcy role that First has done before. It’s his strong point in acting….romantic, unavailable haughty and elegant. But, the films pacing and story line get monotonous. Thank GOD for the gorgeous French landscapes, parties and cliff-edge hotels. But the amount of wordy ‘figuring things out’ bogs down what might have been some real magic. ♚ ♛ 1/2