Magic in the Moonlight
Woody Allen’s new film Magic in the Moonlight is the story of a world-class magician named Stanley Crawford who, like Houdini and the Amazing Randi, is renowned as an ace debunker of spiritualism. Set in the 1920′s, Stanley performs under the name Wei Ling Soo in a droopy Chinese mustache and a silly bald-head wig. There is a real life basis for this character about which I am sure the director was aware: there was a magician named William Ellsworth Robinson. He appeared as Chung Ling Soo and wrote a book called Spirit Slate Writing and Kindred Phenomena. He died on stage performing the famous “bullet catch trick.”
I love this hokey world of spectacular magic tricks and extra-sensory shenanigans. Yes, Allen’s film leans on well-worn themes regarding reality and mysticism (and depends on echoes of characters found in his other movies). But, for me, the combination of magic and the British class system is charming, the cinematography of Darius Khondji is breathtaking and, most of all, this is a perfect cast. As the film begins, Stanley is making an elephant vanish and then manages to have himself disappear and reappear at will. But, unlike his fantastical stage persona, the guy turns out to be a vain and ornery upper class prig. His less successful magician friend, Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney), comes to visit Stanley after the show. He has been confounded by a woman he believes may be a real mind reader. Howard is so baffled by the young female’s skills that he begs Stanley to reveal that she is a fraud. “Oh, I’ll expose her” insists Stanley confidently. The clairvoyant in question is Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), who is staying with her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) at the Côte d’Azur mansion of the Catledge family. Both Grace Catledge (Jackie Weaver) and her son Brice (Hamish Linklater) are completely smitten with Sophie. Grace hears the right ‘knocking’ responses from her dead husband during Sophie’s séances, while Brice spends all his time serenading the apparent clairvoyant with his ukulele, hoping to woo her with promises of jewels and a carefree life full travel to exotic lands. Stanley, who claims he knows a scam when he sees one, grows increasingly astounded (and smitten) by Sophie and her inexplicable ability to know unknowable facts about himself and others. As the infatuation grows, his abrasive cynicism regarding the impossibility of a supernatural dimension falters. All this is fairly predicable romantic comedy territory. You can feel the clichés about the wonder of existence pop open like the roof at the planetarium, where Sophie and Stanley stop to find shelter from a rainstorm. Will this young girl from Kalamazoo warm the cold heart of this pompous (much) older Brit? Will she help him discover the magic of the unseen? Of course. But a romantic romp can be very effective if gifted performers redeem improbable situations along with the cuddly predictability of the story’s archetypical characters. Despite my reservations about Allen’s personal issues and his recycling of old ideas and plot points, these actors give such compelling characterizations I tossed my skepticism aside and enjoyed the ride. The predictable May-December romance, or potential romance, between Firth and Stone is amusing to watch. There are, amid a few clunkers, some wonderful exchanges. You can hear Woody’s voice in the bickering and anxious Stanley, but Firth makes these neurotic words his own. Unlike curmudgeonly Larry David in Whatever Works, or Kenneth Branagh and his Woody Allen impression in Celebrity, Firth remains as beguiling as he has been since 1995′s Pride and Prejudice. This is a farce, and he is really good at meeting its sweet demands. Allen’s women characters are his strength, particularly lately, given top-notch performances from Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett. Continuing that winning streak, Emma Stone is attractive and appealing; she brings a charisma to the role that is gentle but somehow also focused. She comes off as relaxed as she was in the Easy A. Stone doesn’t give Sophie an aura of disturbing mystery; instead, the figure is peacefully resigned to her gift. Equally good is the supporting cast, which whips up an indelible collection of hysterical British types. McBurney has great fun as Stanley’s devoted fellow magician. He is humbled by his friend’s greater fame and becomes visibly excited when he sees Stanley acknowledge the magic he himself has experienced at first hand. Hamish Linklater, as the foppish romantic heir to the family fortune, is so blinded by love that he won’t doubt for a moment that his silly love songs and wealth won’t win Sophie’s heart. Jackie Weaver, who was so frightening as the gangster grandma “Smurf” Cody in Animal Kingdom (and Oscar worthy as the forthright wife of Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook), creates a detailed character without much dialogue. She brings her impressive comic skills to the contented matriarch, who hears just what she wants from her deceased husband during Sophie’s remarkable séances. Now in his late seventies, Allen, for better and worse, has been churning out films lately at an astounding rate. Magic in the Moonlight is far from the writer/director’s best, but it is still great fun, especially given that the chemistry of his superb ensemble is so satisfyingly right. |