Psychoanalytical Review of 'Midnight in Paris' Film: Analysis

This essay provides a psychoanalytical review of Woody Allen's film 'Midnight in Paris.' The analysis explores the movie's themes of escapism, nostalgia, and the complexities of modern relationships through the lens of psychoanalytic theory, drawing on the works of Freud, Lacan, and others. The essay examines the protagonist Gil Pender's journey through time, his interactions with historical figures, and the film's commentary on the human desire to escape the present. It delves into the film's portrayal of the unconscious mind, wish fulfillment, and the struggles of a screenwriter. Furthermore, it considers the director's use of symbolism, imagery, and the movie's overall artistic merit, concluding that the movie offers new insights when viewed through the psychoanalytical framework. The essay also provides a brief overview of the historical context of psychoanalytic theory, its applications in film criticism, and the role of modernism and post-modernism in the movie's narrative.

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Midnight in Paris
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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“The artist's job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the
emptiness of existence.”
The above quoted lines from the famous movie “Midnight in Paris” gives
an overview of the entire theme of the movie. A common trend seen among
then majority of the people in the recent times is that they are no longer content
with the movie that focus on the age old romantic as well as the fairy tale
stories. The present emphasis of the audiences is on the kind of movies which
not only provide them with a glimpse of their own inner psyche but also
compels them to undertake a deeper introspection of the themes as well as
topics which are being shown implicitly or explicitly in the movie. It is a
reflection of this particular factor the various movies of the present times take
the help of various kinds of symbolism, imagery, metaphors and others in a bid
to say a lot more than the actors on the screen are conveying to the audience
(Mulvey 833-844). Therefore, it can be said that the end result of this particular
fact is reason for the prominence which the “psychoanalytical style of movie
critique” has gained prominence in the recent times (Mulvey 833-844). This

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essay will provide a review of the movie “Midnight in Paris” through the lens of
the “psychoanalytical style of movie critique”.
The wider concepts which the genre of psychoanalysis deals with in the
modern day context can be seen due to the works of theorists as well as
Sigmund Freud, Loftus, Dallam, Jacques Lacan and others (Schwanebeck 42:
359-372). Furthermore, in the 21st century the person who is given the
maximum amount of credit for the development of the genre of psychoanalysis
was Julia Kristeva, a disciple of Roland Barthes (Schwanebeck 42: 359-372). It
is a reflection of the works of these psychologists as well as the theorists from
the diverse fields that the field of psychoanalysis in the present times covers a
much wider canvas than it used to a few centuries ago (Collins, Collins and
Radner). Thus, in the recent times it is seen that the various theories as well as
the frameworks of psychoanalysis are used for the analysis of the movies and it
can be said that the primary focus of this particular criticism is on the
unconscious or the subconscious section of the mind of the individuals who are
portrayed in the movies. In the opinion of many people the major focus of the
critics who belong to this particular school of criticism is to analyze the movies

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under consideration on the basis of the theories as well as the works of Freud
and Lacan (Bennett and Royle). However, in the present times it is also seen
that the “Critical theory, Marxist film theory, and Apparatus theory” along with
the concepts of male gaze and female gaze have come to form an important part
of this particular genre of criticism (Bennett and Royle).
The movie “Midnight in Paris” is an Oscar winning movie by the famous
director Woody Allen and was released in the year 2011 (Allen). The movie had
“Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard” in the lead
roles and the entire movie is shot in the city of Paris itself (Özer and Yasin 13:
145-154). It is significant to note that the movie under consideration here has
different interpretations in the opinion of the different movie critics. However, I
would like to say here that the movie is a “fantasy comedy” which through the
mechanism of humor tries to show the struggle of a budding screenwriter not
only with his work not also the struggle which he faces in his relationship with
his fiancé (Özer and Yasin 13: 145-154). There are others who are of the
opinion that the movie tries to show the pitfalls of the modern day relationships
and the problems which inadvertently arise when people with different decide to

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come and stay together with each other (Muller 9:32-40). However, I personally
believe that the movie tries to show the escapist tendencies of the human beings
and their desire to move away from the mundane realities of their ugly lives.
Therefore, it would be apt to say that the movie under consideration here has
different interpretations when seen through the lens of different critical
frameworks.
The movie tries to depict the life of Gil Pender, a fictional screenwriter
who is struggling to produce a work of originality (Allen). In the movie Pender
is shown to have visited the city of Paris with his fiancé and her parents in a bid
to get married in the beautiful city of Paris. However, the couple soon meets one
of the friends of the fiancé of Pender and they start an affair. Pender on the
other hand is struggling with his work and one night while trying to get
inspiration to complete the work of writing his masterpiece which he has
undertake he accidently discovers that every night at around midnight a car
passes through the city of Paris which takes the concerned individual to the
different time periods of history (Muller 9:32-40). It is during these midnight
visits that Pender gets to meet some of the stalwarts of World Literature as well

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as artists from different time periods like Ernest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso,
Scott Fitzgerald, his wife, Gertrude Stein and various others (Allen). It is
significant to note that through his interaction with these stalwarts he is not only
able to work towards the achievement of his lifelong dream of writing his own
masterpiece but is also able to gain insightful knowledge about the various
facets of his own life. Therefore, at the end of the movie it is seen that Pender
breaks his relationship with his fiancé and decides to give full vent to his artistic
temperament.
The director Woody Allen has tried to explore the concepts of modernism
as well as nostalgia through the various time travels which the lead character of
the movie Pender undertakes in the movie. The various time travels which form
an important part of the movie are the representation of an alternate universe
which the director Woody Allen has tried to explore in this particular movie.
This particular interpretation has been accepted by the majority of the movie
critics since the time travels of Pender take him exactly to the time periods in
which he is most interested in and as per the psychoanalytical theories of Freud
as well as Lacan in a way it can be said that they are the fulfillment of the “id”

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or the inherent desires of the character of Pender, who desperately wants to
break away from his present day mundane realities as well as mediocrity which
have become the norm of his life. Therefore, it can be said that it is during these
time travels and most precisely when he meets the various luminaries from the
past it is seen Pender becomes a very lively person which he seldom gets the
chance to be in his real life whose entire fulcrum revolves around the life of his
fiancé. The ending of the movie in my view is a kind of “wish fulfillment” for
the central character of the movie, namely, Pender as he finally is finally able to
meet a girl who not only shares his love for the old books but also for the
frequent rains of Paris. Therefore, it can be said that the movie under
consideration here when viewed through the lens of the psychoanalytical
criticism would reveal new insightful information about the movie.
The director Allen effectively manages the various time transitions which
form an important part of the movie and they do not seem odd. Furthermore, the
various paintings which are being shown during the course of the movie are also
very pleasing to watch. The background music of the movie, especially the ones

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which are being used when Pender is in the other time periods are totally in
synchronization with the context of the movie.
To conclude, the genre of psychoanalytical criticism has gained a
considerable amount of significance in the recent times and it is a reflection of
this particular fact that the various movie critics try to analyze the various
movies of the present times through the lens of this particular genre of criticism.
In the present times it is generally seen that the various directors instead of
narrating the various events of the movie in a straight forward manner often try
to take the help of the various precepts of the concept of modernism as well as
post-modernism and it is precisely here that the genre of psychoanalytical
criticism within the genre of movie analysis gains prominence. A pertinent
example of this particular fact is the movie “Midnight in Paris” which when
viewed through the lens of the psychoanalytical criticism as well as modernism
would reveal several new insights about the movie which would have gone
unnoticed if the other methods of criticism would have been used for its
analysis.

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References
Allen, Woody et al. "Midnight In Paris (2011)". Imdb, 2018,
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1605783/. Accessed 16 May 2018.
Collins, Jim, Ava Preacher Collins, and Hilary Radner. Film theory goes to the
movies: Cultural analysis of contemporary film. Routledge, 2012.
Fusco, Katherine. "Love and Citation in Midnight in Paris." A Companion to
Woody Allen (2013): 294-318.
Gedo, John E. Portraits of the artist: Psychoanalysis of creativity and its
vicissitudes. Routledge, 2013.
Muller Stuelp, Camila. "Midnight in Paris: the loss of the aura in Modernity and
the exhalation of the past." CADERNOS BENJAMINIANOS 9 (2015): 32-40.
Mulvey, Laura. “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema.” Film Theory and
Criticism : Introductory Readings. Eds. Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New
York: Oxford UP, 1999: 833-44.

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Özer, Başak, and Yasin Çağatay Seçkin. "The use of qualitative data analysis
software to read landscapes in movies: The case of Midnight in Paris." A| Z ITU
Journal of the Faculty of Architecture 13.3 (2016): 145-154.