Apart from his glory days between 1975-1986, where every film he made was phenomenal, Woody Allen tends to make one bad film for every good. The Bergman-esque Husbands and Wives was immediately trailed by the rather goofy Manhattan Murder Mystery; the brilliant Sweet and Lowdown was followed by Small Time Crooks, and The Curse of the Jade Scorpion came before the underwhelming Hollywood Ending. Judging by how great last year’s Blue Jasmine was, the 78-year-old director was due a bomb. Step-forward: Magic in the Moonlight.
It is a rather lightweight tale of deceit, faith and the paranormal that lacks the usual Woody Allen style of humour, playing out more like a rush-job local theatre production. Stanley (Colin Firth) is better known as his on-stage persona, the ‘Chinese’ magician Wei Ling Soo. He is a man of reason and logic, described by a friend as being “like Freud, he will not allow himself to think childish thoughts because they are more comforting.” As a renowned debunker of charlatan spiritualists, he travels to the South of France to expose Sophie (Emma Stone), a young woman whose abilities to contact the dead have gained her quite a reputation.
There are the usual twists and turns that accompany any Woody film: love interests, characters contemplating the concept of religion, mortality and faith and some brief slithers of humour. But a good concept and half-decent cast are wasted on a script that feels rushed, and little more than a first draft. Philosophical ramblings are clumsily crowbarred into conversations and long speeches of exposition insult an audience who are used to better from the director.
Colin Firth is odd in a role that, in truth, is beneath his talent. He struggles manfully with some dialogue that would shame a school play. Emma Stone is the archetypal Woody Allen leading woman. Following on from Diane Keaton and, more recently, Scarlett Johansson, she is independent, quirky and quick to fall in love with men she could probably do better than. Although both good actors in their own right, together they have the chemistry of Israel and Palestine. They each chase one another at different points of the film, and it’s frankly horrible to watch. By the time they eventually (spoiler alert) kiss, it’s kind of creepy.
The period of the 1920’s suits Allen’s style perfectly, returning to the era for the seventh time in his career. Unfortunately, the beautiful settings and costume design are little more than the proverbial lipstick on a pig. Within the context of the current cinematic climate, even a bad Woody Allen film is better than the majority of other comedies, but when measured against what he is capable, it can’t be anything other than a big disappointment.
As he nears his eightieth birthday, now may be the time for Allen to slow his input, and return his focus to quality rather than quantity. With the astonishing output of films during his career (this being his forty-ninth directorial effort), it’s only logical that Woody Allen produces a few flops. Although Magic in the Moonlight is far from his best effort, it is also nowhere near his worst.
Magic in the Moonlight will be shown at Broadway Cinema until Wednesday 1 October 2014.
Magic in the Moonlight official site
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