“’Out Of The Past' was the name of the store, and its products consisted of memories: what was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation had been transmuted by the mere passing of years to a status at once magical and also camp.”
This wonderful time-travel film, written and directed by Woody Allen was a virtual who’s who. Not only in the actors, but also in the artistic characters of the past.
Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is engaged to Inez (Rachel McAdams). This is the third time-travel story I have blogged about staring Rachel McAdams, but the first time this adorable actress was not a likable character
Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is engaged to Inez (Rachel McAdams). This is the third time-travel story I have blogged about staring Rachel McAdams, but the first time this adorable actress was not a likable character
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Gil was a failed Hollywood scriptwriter who was working on his novel. He was a dreamer and found inspiration in Paris, especially in the rain. Inez did not relate to this and would never let herself get wet or live in the French city. Gil believed in soulmates. Inez thought it was a ridiculous notion. She did not respect anything Gil liked. In fact, she was more taken with her friend, Paul (Michael Sheen), who is also visiting along with his wife Carol (Nina Arianda). Paul is a pretentious snob, know-it-all.
One night, Gil decides he’s had enough of hanging around with Inez’s friends and decides to walk back to his hotel. He gets lost on the streets of Paris and sits down on some steps. The bells of a clock ring out midnight. Suddenly a vintage 1920’s Peugeot taxi pulls up and the people inside beckon him to go with them to a party.
One night, Gil decides he’s had enough of hanging around with Inez’s friends and decides to walk back to his hotel. He gets lost on the streets of Paris and sits down on some steps. The bells of a clock ring out midnight. Suddenly a vintage 1920’s Peugeot taxi pulls up and the people inside beckon him to go with them to a party.
He ends up at a party in 1920’s Paris where he meets notable American novelists, Zelda (Alison Pill) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston). The Fitzgeralds are friendly and partiers, especially Zelda.
Gil is also taken by the piano player/singer who he comes to find out is none other than Cole Porter (Yves Heck) doing his famous song, Let’s Do it.
“Birds do it, bees do it
Even educated fleas do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love”
“Romantic sponges, they say, do it
Oysters, down in oyster bay, do it
Let's do it, let's fall in love”
To make a long, great story short, Gil ends up meeting many famous people who found it vogue to hone their crafts in the Parisian city in the Roaring Twenties. He asks Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) to review his book, which is refused, so Hemingway offers to bring it to Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) who reads it and likes it. There, Gil meets Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and his mistress, Adriana (Marion Cotillard). Gil starts to fall for Adriana and continues to travel back to the ‘20s to date her.
Meanwhile, Gil is still engaged to Inez in the present day, who is more and more infatuated with Paul. In one scene she shushes Gil so that Paul can speak. Hemingway makes Gil wonder why he is even still engaged to Inez.
Another aspect of Gil’s life Inez could not relate to was his love of antiques and nostalgia. On one trip with Inez and her friends, Gil walks over to a French female vendor playing Cole Porter on an antique Gramophone. Her name was Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) He was impressed with her knowledge of things and music of the past.
Another aspect of Gil’s life Inez could not relate to was his love of antiques and nostalgia. On one trip with Inez and her friends, Gil walks over to a French female vendor playing Cole Porter on an antique Gramophone. Her name was Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) He was impressed with her knowledge of things and music of the past.
Gil continues his Midnight strolls to the 1920s and dating Adriana. Gil believes this is the Golden Era, but Adriana, who lives in it believes the 1890s was the Golden Era. This film has time-travel within time-travel as a horse-drawn buggy comes along and transports them to the Gay Nineties. They go to the Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas. (Vincent Menjou Cortes, Olivier Rabourdin, and François Rostain) However, these three believe the Renaissance era was the Golden Age. Gil ends up having an epiphany and realizes that despite the allure of nostalgia, any time can eventually become a dull "present", so it's best to embrace your actual present. Adriana however, elects to stay in the 1890s, and they part ways.
Other notable people Gil meets:
Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland)
Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody)
T. S. Eliot (David Lowe)
Henri Matisse (Yves-Antoine Spoto)
Leo Stein (Laurent Claret)
Other notable people Gil meets:
Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland)
Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody)
T. S. Eliot (David Lowe)
Henri Matisse (Yves-Antoine Spoto)
Leo Stein (Laurent Claret)
Spoiler:
Back in the present day, Inez admits to Gil that she slept with Paul, but dismisses it as meaningless. Gil leaves her and stays in Paris.
One night as Gil is walking around, he runs into Gabrielle, the antique vendor. She tells Gil she was thinking about him when a new set of Cole Porter records came in. It starts to rain and Gil acts concerned for her. But she tells him, it’s ok, she likes the rain. He asks to walk her home. It appeared Gabrielle was Gil’s true soulmate.
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This is a wonderful film for those who love time-travel, France, classic literary figures, and artists.
The casting was brilliant, especially of the historical figures.
The casting was brilliant, especially of the historical figures.
Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody)
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