MOVIE MONDAYS: MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT
A period drama with Colin Firth, Eileen Atkins, Emma Stone and a promise of magic? Count me in! I am sure I cannot be the only one who saw the title of this film and started singing "Magic in the moonlight! Everybody's feeling warm and bright..." only to realise the song by Toploader is actually "Dancing in the Moonlight" but made the executive decision that your new lyrics work just as well. Anyway, after that song found a nice and cosy spot in my head a mental note was made to go see this film that already put a smile on face without me having seen it yet.
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This is film is funny. And I'm basing this fact on the fact that I and a bunch of other folk in the cinema let lose quite a few chuckles and hearty laughs throughout this film. It is also quite sweet. The story-line is one that is rightly placed in the romantic comedy genre. And though released this year, Magic in the Moonlight still had an "old school film" vibe in terms of the cinematic techniques used which, to me, only added to this film's beauty. Speaking of beauty, the costumes and scenery in this movie were breathtakingly so.
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So what is this film about? Magic in the Moonlight is a film that questions the importance of living in a world filled with hope as well as the manner in which some people instill hope, peace and wonder in the lives of others. We watch how Stanley Crawford, a well-renowned magician and man of science handles the news of the real magic the lovely and seemingly gifted medium, Sophie is able to perform. This heart-warming film filled with quite a few beautifully delivered sarcastic comments was written and directed by Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris; Blue Jasmine; Match Point). As this story is set in the 1920's, you can expect that seeing some of the costumes the characters wear will have you wishing you had a fancy dress party to attend soon or could create a time machine or that the next fashion trend would be the 20's - I wonder what they wore in Autumn... And there was something about this film that made me feel happy and quite calm at the end of it. I do not know if it had something to do with all the scenes being bathed in soft colours like yellow but I liked it.
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Bringing the obnoxious yet admirable fellow, Stanley Crawford - who you kinda end up having a huge soft spot for - to life in Magic in the Moonlight is Colin Firth (The Railway Man; The King's Speech; St. Trinian's); he owned that role.The resourceful girl with a big heart and great style, Sophie Baker, was played by the lovely Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man 2; The Help; Easy A). And Eileen Atkins (Doc Martin; Evening; Cold Mountain) stars as the knowledgeable, hip and caring aunt of Stanley, Aunt Vanessa. I love the relationship the two of them have. When they are together on screen I feel like I am watching two kids who have been best friends for years thoroughly enjoying the time spent in each other's presence. There are of course other great characters in this film but these are my top 3 at this point .
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Watching Magic in the Moonlight may cause you to buy into the idea that love is not a rational thing but rather proof that magic does exist in the world, if you haven not already done so. For those who love a good romantic comedy, I think you'll like this. I have been hearing a lot of mixed reviews about this film but all I can tell you is if you do watch it, you will at least have been given reasons to smile and laugh which can never be a bad thing can it?
What has made you smile lately?
Mo x