Woody Allen’s latest is almost upon us, and perhaps in rare form, the director is actually going to be doing press for his upcoming romantic comedy “Magic In The Moonlight," and he’ll have much to talk about. Set in the South of France in the 1920s, the movie centers around Allen’s fondness for magic, but also hews closely to Allen’s preoccupation with (comically) exploring, life, death and the existential meaning of it all. And there’s a lot more to it than what meets the eye.
“A lot of that lay under the surface for me. I didn’t catch it all on first read," lead star Colin Firth told the Wall Street Journal this week. "It basically has the aspect of something that’s incredibly light, a diversion. And I think we all found in the twists and turns that there was an awful lot more. Before we knew it, people on the set were discussing their own beliefs, questions about what faith means to people."
The movie also stars Emma Stone, Marcia Gay Harden, Eileen Atkins, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney and Jacki Weaver – and it must have been a pretty good collaboration for Emma Stone because she’s already filming Allen’s next movie opposite Joaquin Phoenix. Perhaps she’s Allen’s new muse ala the same way Scarlett Johansson was in the mid aughts, and if so we’re happy with that.
"Woody’s had a connection to magic and the supernatural since he was a kid driven by his belief that we’re going to end up in a black hole of nothingness and that the universe is quickly moving apart and there’s no hope for humankind," Stone told the WSJ. But, she added, "The hope for this kind of magic [being real] is a thing we’ve seen in his movies for decades."
Six new clips from the film have arrived and that’ll give you a good taste of the picture if you want more than just the trailer. “Magic In The Moonlight” opens in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on July 25 and that date will be followed by a nationwide expansion. Watch the clips below following the synopsis for the film:
- MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT is a romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. He winds up getting tricked and becomes romantically involved. Personal and professional complications ensue. The film is set in the south of France in the 1920s against a backdrop of wealthy mansions, the Côte d’Azur, jazz joints and fashionable spots for the wealthy of the Jazz Age.
Clips removed at the request of Sony Pictures Classics.