the audience applauded

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Memorable, crazy movie

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Magic in the Moonlight was an especially good-looking outing for Woody Allen in 2014. Despite its brilliant cinematography, however, the film didn't have much else to offer. Woody Allen explores well-traversed territory here when he follows a 1920's magician in his plot to expose a fraudulent spiritualist. His magician Colin Firth is an atheist, of course, and has no patience for reveling in the company of frauds. The spiritualist, Emma Stone, nearly has Firth's character convinced until he is brought back by his stubbornness which kept him from believing in anything more than the life we have on this earth. Magic in the Moonlight is certainly one of Woody's fluff pieces, but it's not as fun of a fluff piece as some others, most notably, Scoop. The film is notable as the only time Woody Allen comes close to giving into some kind of religion, though.

The main character is similar to the one in "Whatever works", pessimistic and know-it-all ; he too reluctantly falls for a younger and less learned woman, which helps him see things under a different perspective. The girl happens to look quite like young Mia FarrowWoody Allen preferred to revisit this story as a period piece (the one of Gatsby) and in France where he seems to prefer to work recently. Happy-ending happens, but not the same way as "Whatever works" - no fall involved in the final twist...I personally prefer "Whatever works", due to richer intrigue and characters (and to Ms Wood...) ; however, this one's philosophic message (how to be optimistic...) is more developed

Although on the thin side, this romantic comedy set in 1928 turns out to be one of writer-director Woody Allen's better latter-day films. Colin Firth plays a British illusionist who performs successfully throughout the world under the guise of a Chinaman from the mystical Orient; he's, however, an unbeliever in the spiritual world, and is therefore curious to meet the houseguest of a wealthy American family vacationing on the Riviera, a surprisingly intuitive lass who claims to be an actual psychic. Firth's doubtful magician, an atheist who is amusingly brought to his knees in prayer after falling in love with telepathic Emma Stone, stands in for Woody Allen but doesn't do a Woody impersonation (a relief). Still, there's no magic between Firth and Stone as a movie-couple (they don't match up well), and the gaggle of comedic supporting characters bustling about the lush location haven't anything funny to do or say. Ultimately a benign film, but one that entertains in patches...and it's always enjoyable listening to Allen's dialogue, especially when his alter-ego continually weighs both sides of a situation without ever giving up his pessimistic nature. **1/2 from ****

A decent and droll comedy of manners about a skeptic (Colin Firth) investigating and falling in love with a spiritualist (Emma Stone) during a summer of the French Riviera in the 1920s.The first decades of the century were a time when magic was in the air. Chung Ling Soo, a fake Oriental, was performing magic tricks on the state to much applause. Little girls took photos of tiny fairies in their gardens. A spiritualist movement swept up Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, anxious to reach the son who had been killed in the war, and Harry Houdini, anxious to demystify the whole business. The chief cause of all this confusion was probably Charles Darwin, Esq., who had all but removed God's influence over the human condition. Surely there must be more to life than just -- THIS! The most interesting and amusing part of the movie is the first half, in which Emma Stone seems to actually come up with visions that she couldn't have known anything about. At first, Firth is full of dismissive quips that are often funny in a British way. George Sanders could have pulled them off, and maybe William Powell.But Firth is converted and then an on-and-off romance begins with everyone filled with hope and doubt, a familiar template. Firth still has his bon mots and they're still amusing.In fact, Firth in his tweedy outfits delivers throughout. Emma Stone is a pretty, pale, slender slyph who resembles Mia Farrow with gigantic blue eyes. Eileen Atkins is the elderly aunt. She's damned near perfect in the role. She and Firth, just the two of them, would make the film worth watching.I'm not sure I'd want to watch it for the evocative location shooting. What with the limpid pools, the drooping willows, the varicolored flowers, the benign sunshine, and Emma Stone's rufous tresses, I'd be whisked away to a pre-Raphaelite place I would regret ever having left.This most closely resembles Allen's earlier "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," but it's funnier and more pointed. It still pits the intellect against the heart, and there are earnest discussions of what it's all about, but except for the mid-film split it holds together better. Woody Allen hasn't made a truly successful film in more than a decade, but this one is pretty good.