Magic in the Moonlight

Magic in the Moonlight is the latest comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen (Annie Hall). Set in the French Riviera during the 1920s, the film stars Colin Firth as Stanley Crawford, an illusionist who is persuaded to visit a well to-do family’s estate to debunk claims that a visiting clairvoyant named Sophie (Emma Stone) can communicate with the dead. Stanley takes pleasure in refuting spiritualist claims, so under the guise of a businessman he heads to the manor. However, to his surprise, the acts that Sophie manages to pull off are miraculous, throwing Stanley’s whole system of beliefs into question. The film co-stars Hamish Linklater, Marcia Gay Harden, and Jacki Weaver.

Magic and magicians have appeared in quite a few of Allen’s films before, including Scoop where he played one himself. As Stone describes, it’s very easy to get caught up in that mystical feeling. “I think everyone was kind of swept up in a happy-go-lucky ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ sort of feeling. For me, the experience and the story itself had the same kind of feeling you get when you go to a magic show. Every time I’ve seen a close-up magician I think it must be real even though there is no way it is real. I think there is something to how much we want to suspend our disbelief and be truly amazed by someone. We want stories, we want fairy tales, we want myths.”

Magic in the Moonlight is rated PG.

Read our review of the film here.

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