Woody Allen is at it again, exploring love and death in an engaging romance set in France during the 1920s. For much of the movie love takes a back seat to death, as the story centers on a spiritualist (Emma Stone) who claims to be able to contact people on “the other side,” and whom a magician (Colin Firth) is quite certain is a fraud. The magician is a pessimistic soul who believes the worst of everyone, and is astonished when the spiritualist reveals things so personal to him that almost no one else could know them. It takes a while, but, naturally, the two fall in love.
Allen is unusually cinematic this time around, filming in widescreen Panavision to capture the beauty of the French coast, staying outdoors and utilizing natural light whenever possible. This helps to cover an uneven, bumpy script that harkens back to Allen’s halcyon days but which also compromises itself in certain areas. Shaking the confidence of the arrogant magician is absolutely essential, but in realistic terms I think the script goes too far, having him take steps which would essentially ruin him.
Allen’s films often feature supporting characters who upstage the leads and deliver the pithiest dialogue (to great acclaim; thirteen supporting performances have been nominated for Academy Awards from Allen’s films, with five of them winning!); that being said, this film is sadly lacking in that regard. Talented performers such as Marcia Gay Harden, Jacki Weaver, Catherine McCormack and Eileen Atkins actually have very little of substance to do. Only Simon McBurney, in a role that Bob Balaban would be playing if this was set in America, registers anything above routine from the supporting ranks.
No, this is a two-character piece, and the weird thing is that the pretty spiritualist intentionally shows as little emotion as possible. This puts all the emotional weight on the magician. Colin Firth is up to the challenge, enacting his charge with nuance and depth, but he nevertheless becomes rather tiresome. Because the script is so unbalanced in terms of its center, it rarely touches the heart, charming though it is
On the other hand, this script fits right into Allen’s strengths with its musings and wonderings about mortality, an afterlife, optimism vs. pessimism and whether one should cherish one’s beliefs above all things, or rather let go and enjoy what is presented in life, whatever that may be. The result is a Woody Allen film that feels like one from the past, but one which lacks the ensemble of characters and hilarious rapport that might make it a classic. ☆ ☆ 1/2. 14 August 2014.