As someone who appreciates Woody Allen and loves a lot of his films, Magic in the Moonlight was a lovely, entertaining film. Of his recent films, it is not as good as Midnight in Paris or Blue Jasmine but ranking it in his filmography it's around high middle; much better than What's Up Tiger Lily, Celebrity, To Rome with Love, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Anything Else, Cassandra's Dream and Small Time Crooks but you shouldn't expect another Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanours, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Husbands and Wives, Love and Death, The Manhattan Murder Mystery, Another Woman, Bullets Over Broadway, Deconstructing Harry or Broadway Danny Rose.

Magic in the Moonlight to me wasn't without flaws. There is a little too much exposition at the beginning giving the film a slightly rambling and slow start, the ending is a little too abruptly wrapped up and some of Stanley's decision making came off as sudden and improbable.

But there is also a huge amount to like, notably with how stunning it looks, the Southern France locations really do mesmerise, it's full of handsome period detail and pretty colours and the photography is positively luminous. The music, much of it jazz like a lot of Allen's films, is very catchy and toe-tapping as well as having a relaxing slinkiness too, it matches the film very well tonally and pace-wise. The dialogue is not some of Allen's best, but it actually is witty and controlled with plenty to say and delivered quite insightfully, spirit and flavour-wise this is Woody Allen all over. The story isn't ground-breaking as such nor did it need to be, it does tackle some bold themes and with bite and insight; the idea of love being the only true magic is beautifully handled, and come to think of it the writing and the themes covered here are beyond anything that a lot of films from this year has. I for one do not think that Magic in the Moonlight is a case of all style, no substance that it has been criticised as. The characters are interesting at least and mostly compelling in their realism, though you do question Stanley's decision making at times, they're not likable as such but when you look at other films from Woody Allen it's hardly unusual. Stanley is not easy to like to begin with but he really grows on you, even those who don't warm to him will mostly likely think that Boris from Whatever Works and pretty much any character from Anything Else are much less likable. The film is smartly directed by Allen and the acting is good, Colin Firth acts with cool authority and Emma Stone is just delightfully charming as the film's most likable(quite easily) character. But the scene-stealer is the always dependable Eileen Atkins who really knows how to command the screen and be funny, some of the film's best humour comes from her.

Overall, a minor but a very enjoyable Woody Allen film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It's 1928. Stanley (Colin Firth) is famous magician Wei Ling Soo performing around the world and is also a skeptic dedicated to debunking supernatural frauds. Howard Burkan comes to him about spiritual medium Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) who has wormed her way into the wealthy Catledge family and bewitched the family heir Brice Catledge (Hamish Linklater). Stanley vows to out her as a fraud. Brice's sister Caroline and her husband George also disbelieve her but is helpless to convince Brice or their mother (Jacki Weaver). Sophie has her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) along with her. Brice and his mother plan to invest heavily to research Sophie's abilities.

It's a light fluffy romance without anything particularly compelling. I hoped that it gives a little insight into the magician's bag of tricks. He falls for her so completely so quickly that it calls into question about his abilities. Then he falls completely out of belief so sharply that I don't know what to think. The revelation turns out to be rather simple which is another version of what I was thinking of all along. The basic premise that Sophie wouldn't know who Stanley is was such a naive flimsy premise. It was obvious from early on that somebody is out to embarrass him by pulling one over on him.

This is still a nice light harmless romance except a couple of things bug me about Colin and Emma. The age difference, as in many Woody romances, does irk me and Emma is playing her role too modernly. Also the fact that her character was obviously playing him the whole time keeps the romantic chemistry from truly blossoming. The romance only becomes convincing when he finally figures out the truth. This is not a great Woody movie but it certainly has elements that are reminiscent of other Woody movies.

"Magic in the Moonlight" is the newest romance movie by the very successful and prolific Woody Allen. As in most of the films he has written and directed in recent years, he is not acting in the film himself. If you wanna see that, you should go for John Turturro's newest work. However, here he has competent help from Colin Firth and Emma Stone as the central characters and some very experienced actors in the supporting cast. Sadly, the film missed some of Woody's usual charm for me. I did not feel that Firth and Stone had particularly great chemistry and as the whole film was about their blossoming relationship and love, it really hurt the overall picture. Also, sometimes it gets a bit cheesy and not credible, maybe due tho the criticism I mentioned before. The ending (which was also very abrupt) with the knocking is really a tightrope walk between sweet and ridiculous. Another personal criticism I had was that Firth's character was so unlikeable from start to finish that there was not really a single moment where you hoped he would get the girl. Actually I found myself hoping at some point his rival would get her as she obviously meant the world to him. Also the transformation of Firth' character was not entirely credible to me. It just seemed so from one end to the other and I suspected that Stone's character was somehow getting all these information and I am probably not as smart as Firth's character. so how come he felt this was all 100% real.

Nonetheless, the film is not a bad one. It has its moments and there's some solid detail. The rich boy who keeps singing is funny in an embarrassing kind of way. Firth and Stone are both talented actors and you can't really do anything wrong by casting them. The film plays during the 1920s, between World War 1 and 2 and I am actually curious how these Wars affected the main characters' lives. Unfortunately, the film does not give any reference here. Looking only at the action, it also could have played several decades later, maybe even today.

Anyway, if you are in the mood for a little romantic comedy with not too much depth and substance (we all are at some point) or if you just love Allen, Forth or Stone and their work, this is a decent pick to watch.