Movie Review: Magic In The Moonlight

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) by Woody Allen. With Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Simon McBurney and Eileen Atkins.



Woody Allen's latest movie take us once again in France, this time in the South Riviera.
As usual, scenografy, script and soundtrack are exceptional, so without further adds
here's the plot:










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Stanley, beside being a very rational and rude man, is a famous illusionist who goes under the name of Wei Ling Soo. Sometimes, he also expose so-called medium and anyone who claims to be able to talk to ghosts.

One night, after one of his shows, Stanley receive the visit of Howard, his (only) friend. Howard asks him to go in south of France, where a whealty family is giving hospitality (and a lot of money) to Sophie, an American girl that managed to make everyone think she can communicate to the widow's late husband.

Stanley is introduced to this family and their guests as a business man and, as soon as he met Sophie, begins to act incredibly aggressive and skeptical on Sophie's "powers".
After attending a seance, Stanley is a bit confused...he knows magic doesn't exist and yet Sophie doesn't seem to use any kind of tricks....

Stanley and Sophie start to spend some time together, so one day they decide to make a short trip to Stanley's loved aunt Vanessa and is in that occasion that Sophie proves again her powers and reveals a secret that only he and his aunt knew.


Finally convinced that she has some sort of "gift", the two keep spending time together and Stanley decides to have a press conference to announce to the entire world that Sophie's not a fraud, but a real medium.

The day of the conference, Stanley gets interrupted by the news that his aunt had a car accident, so he immediately leave and goes to the hospital, where his aunt is under surgery...

The doctors assured him they'll do everything they can and suggest he waits and prays for the operation to succeed...so, even if a bit reluctant, he starts praying.
But soon he realizes how "nonsense" it is and goes back on being the logical person he always has been, because he finally understood how Sophie fool him!

I deliberately chose not to define secondary characters (who are, anyway, very important) like Stanley's aunt and Sophie' suitor because I wanted to focus on the principal story.
I think I liked this movie, it is not "Midnight In Paris" level, it's funny and Colin Firth's character is YES! detestable, but also sarcastic and sometimes comic! Eileen Atkins as aunt Vanessa was marvellous, expecially in the final part....watch the movie, and you'll understand what I mean!

Ranking : 3¾/5

Photo credits: all over the Internet