Upon first meeting Sophie and her mother (Marcia Gay Harden), Stanley is cynical and caustic, lying about who he is and his professional. Strangely, Sophie seems to know things about him, from her "psychic vibrations," despite his ruse. Still, he remains determined to expose her as a fraud, even though Brice and his dear mother Grace (Jacki Weaver) seem convinced of Sophie's genuine abilities. Even as Brice woos Sophie, Stanley finds himself possibly succumbing to her charms, and yes, even the possibility that he could have been wrong all of these years about psychic ability. So what is the truth and what is the facade?
Magic in the Moonlight is absolutely lush in its sets and scenery. The French Riviera is certainly no slouch and the costuming is gorgeous, reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, but more on the reserved side. I found the acting to be well done, but Emma Stone seemed a bit over the top at times, but perhaps that was the point. I found myself disliking Stanley Crawford's character as a man with no faith, no hope and a clear dislike for all things religious or related to God in any way. It was just a bit abrasive at times.
Stone and Firth are amusing on screen together, but I didn't necessarily buy them as a possible romantic couple. My favorite character in the entire film was Crawford's dear Aunt Vanessa (Eileen Atkins), as she is the most spirited (no pun intended) and interesting character in the entire cast. While I enjoyed the overall story and loved watching the amazing scenery, I just wasn't crazy about the film as a whole. I found it a little boring at times. Honestly, I was hoping for something magical like Midnight in Paris, another of Woody Allen's films, which I absolutely adored, but Magic in the Moonlight just didn't do it for me.
If you are a huge fan of Emma Stone and Colin Firth, you may want to catch it on Netflix, but even though I typically really enjoy Emma Stone's work, in my opinion, this was not one of her best.
