In collaboration with
Midnight in Paris meets Alice in Wonderland in this rewarding, wildly imaginative redemption tale. Overwhelmed by directorial duties and unnerved by a recent death and corrosive relationship, a panic attack sends Richard fleeing onto the nighttime Paris streets, where he convenes with sages and lost souls across the social and generational spectrum.
Born in Britain, a fact continually thrown at him due to a hint of an accent, Richard (played by writer-director Antony Hickling) jokes early on that he is “being French.” He is “moody” and “self-critical,” yes, but also explosively creative. His imagination is fired by those he meets, such as a fortune teller whose tears flow along with her readings, and the places he goes: a peculiar church honouring “the night of remembrance”; the apartment of an estranged, hostile friend; the depths of a sex club. Richard continues to wander, unsure of what tomorrow will bring; if, perhaps, he won’t only turn the page, but change the book. Infused with a fairy-tale quality – truth and dreams and symbolism colliding – Down in Paris slips further and further into its measured, surrealistic madness. A first step to clarity.
Q+A / Antony Hickling
Meet the filmmaker Antony Hickling of feature film DOWN IN PARIS. An interesting and insightful talk about his work, the why and the how and more, with Michael Belcher.