Magic in the Moonlight is the latest Woody Allen film; the film follows a Chinese conjurer: Wei Ling Soo, who is a magician, one of the finest of his generation. However in actual fact Wei Ling Soo is just a persona, really he is an ego-centric Englishman called Stanley Crawford who is played by Colin Firth. To the delight of his audiences his act lets him make an elephant disappear, saw a women in half and more…But despite his magical tendencies he has no time for anything other-worldly, and has a great disdain for spiritualists and mediums.
It is for this reason that his friend and fellow illusionist tasks him with going to the Catledge family mansion in the Côte d’Azur in order to expose an aspiring clairvoyant Sophie Baker as a fraud (played by our cover star Emma Stone).
Grace Catledge has invited Sophie to the mansion in order that she contact her late husband. Sophie manages to catch the attention and affections of Grace’s son Brice. But the question is whether the conceited and arrogant magician will feel the allure of the up and coming psychic as well.
Certainly Stanley’s arrival at the mansion is a catalyst for a series of magical and mysterious events! In fact the whole film is a comic tale of magic, mayhem and mystery…
I don’t want to spoil the film by telling you too much of the plot, or whether Sophie turns out to be a fraud or the real deal. But Emma Stone who plays Sophie certainly made her feelings clear about the psychic world during a recent interview on The David Letterman Show:
Emma Stone believes she has encountered the spirit of her late Grandfather, the 25 year old told the chat show host that rather than scaring her, her Grandfather reminds her of his presence by leaving her coins for her to find around the house.
“There’s a long family history with quarters. My grandfather leaves quarters.”
Later in the interview, Letterman revealed he would be inclined to believe the occurrences if they could be proved scientifically, asking, “What makes you think – what tangible information makes you think that it is from granddad?”
“That’s the joy of it.” Emma explained “It’s not a logical thing; it’s magical. It’s like ectoplasm. It’s a milky substance…That indicates someone has been there.”
“It’s such a long story that you’d have to go to commercial five times, and roll to a clip and then come back, and I’d still be telling the story. But it’s him,” she insists. “It’s absolutely him.”
Letterman then went on to explain his own experiences with the paranormal, as Emma agreed “I love this so much. I mean, I really do. I think we should all open our minds and our hearts to magic.”
Colin Firth was also recently interviewed by the Mirror, and answered the following questions in relation to this film, his next project and working with Emma Stone:
After the darkness of Railway Man (war film) and Before I Go To Sleep (psychological thriller) were you keen to do a comedy?
“I often choose my films on the basis of how I’m feeling and what my mood is at the time. Making a film like Magic In The Moonlight is a bit of a romp. We worked in the most beautiful setting imaginable [the Cote d’Azur], you work relatively short hours with Woody Allen who likes to finish work before dinner, and you almost feel like you’re on a paid holiday”.
Do you take your work home with you?
“Although I take work seriously, I try to approach the profession in a light-hearted way. I’ve always tried to enjoy it without letting it invade my life. Although with Magic In The Moonlight there was very little strain in terms of the work, but that was not the case when I did Railway Man which was very dark and it leaves its mark on you”.
How was working with Emma Stone?
“She was a pure delight. Emma has a very sweet and engaging personality. She’s also a gifted actress and can throw herself into a character with the kind of assurance and command that’s impressive”.
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