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A light comic romp set in the French countryside during the '20's where a renown illusionist and hard-nose skeptic (Colin Firth) is tasked to disprove the abilities of a beautiful, American medium (Emma Stone) that has made her way up into socialite inner circles. Stumped by her abilities, he begins to see the drabness of life as meaningful for the first time in ages. As can be expected, his efforts are met with a battle of credulity that leads to revelations, not so much about the supernatural but himself.
Leave it to Woody Allen to spin yet another yarn about a scrappy, youthful beauty that falls madly in love with a much older eccentric after drastically changing his life. It's been one of the staples of his oeuvre for decades, only becoming increasingly disturbing as real life and allegations hang a dark cloud over his legacy. Whatever his past may or may not reveal about the nebbish auteur it is undeniable that he's made some of the most influential films of our time and, even when not at the height of his powers, can dish out a slice of breezy,whimsical engaging fare. So, where does "Magic In The Moonlight" fall?
If one were to point out one glaring fault in the film, it's that nothing particularly new can be said about Allen as an artist with this piece. To a seasoned fan of his work this will be a blip in the radar, albeit far from an offensively bad one. To a newcomer it will be a pleasant and breezy watch but not one that might inspire further investigation of Allen's work. It also suffers from some unfortunate (tough still professional) lighting that makes the whole affair somewhat ugly to look at and doesn't really chime with the location, setting, or mood.
Colin Firth is an exceptional lead and an absolute pleasure to watch as the somewhat overly stuffy Stanley, a career magician and unflinching debunker. Seeing him wrestle with the unknown, reassess his life, and see the world through both new and old eyes refreshed is quite the treat. It is this character arc that immediately wraps you into the goings on and, though you can see the ending coming a mile away, keeps you hanging on till the credits roll. Not to insinuate that anything might incite the desire to leave. The film is rife with an excellent supporting cast, clever and charming dialogue, great locations, and a genuine atmosphere that spirits you away to the time portrayed.
So, as with any romantic comedy, you need a female lead to play off the male. As customary with Allen films (again, somewhat disturbingly so in hindsight) that lead tends to be much younger than the male and certainly way out of his league when it comes to looks. The more than capable (and one of my personal favorites) Emma Stone takes the role of the endearing medium Sophie. This should be great news as Stone has more than once proven to have the chops, the timing, and the charm to pull off anything thrown at her but it pains me to say that her character falls somewhat flat.
While it'd be easy to pile the blame fully on her capabilities it would also be disingenuous. In short, Allen's script does nothing truly interesting with her. Stone ultimately feels like a wasted talent. She is neither presented as smart enough despite it being clear she's no dummy, witty enough despite have some excellent exchanges with Stanley, or interesting enough despite being the focus of Stanley's investigation and affections. Instead she comes off as somewhat daft at times and, worse, downright needy at others. This is a woman beholden to the approval of a man. It all feels so dated. Had this been set in present time it might just be downright offensive. We are expected to believe she'd be a source of inspiration for the lead and, less credibly, one that captures his rocky heart.
At first this holds weight because her abilities befuddle Stanley and give his life renewed purpose but as the story progresses the illusion no longer holds. Though the themes of the film center around the true magic of life being in matters of the heart it all ends up feeling somewhat contrived. There truly is no reason for him to love her or her to love him, at least not with what was shown to us. He fell in love with an idea, she fell in love with a curmudgeonly cynic but REALLY they fell in love with each other despite all that? Really, that's the best you could do? How often does this really happen? Here is Allen's ultimate downfall. In real life this relationship would not even be fathomable much less lead to the sappy ending.
All that said, the film IS an enjoyable watch. There is nothing grossly awry with it, after all, it just makes zero impact in Allen's filmography and might prove utterly forgettable to a casual viewer once all is said and done. This feels more like a glorified stage play that is still having the kinks worked out. Its woeful misuse of Emma Stone is a downright shame though Colin Firth does much to keep that dynamic going. This is Allen on automatic, be grateful that he can churn out entertaining material even then. I give "Magic in the Moonlight" a 6 out of 10.
