Stanley takes Sophie to the home of his Aunt Vanessa (Eileen Atkins), something of a mother to Stanley. The dance between them is light and sudsy, destined to be little more than a footnote in a graduate student’s essay about illusion, hypnotism, and trickery in the films of Woody Allen. … I don’t think I have ever played a protagonist in a film who gets so close to being completely unsympathetic.” Woody Allen may be an unapologetic atheist (“To you, I’m an atheist; to God, I’m the loyal opposition,” he once said), but he also seems to understand that lack of belief cannot help but make it hard to find meaning, purpose or hope in life. A thunderstorm starts happening, scaring Sophie and making her think they'll die. She even mentions information about Olivia and an older flame of Stanley's, Jenny. She beckons the spirit to knock once for "yes" and twice for "no". He knows Sophie is near. He leaves the room with Sophie and Howard alone. “Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends,” he once quipped. Stanley recognizes it from his youth. Two knocks for no. But because this is a Woody Allen movie, the one thing you can be certain of is that Stanley’s earnest embrace of what he formerly rejected as “poppycock” likely won’t last long. He goes up to her and they kiss. We believe in Truth & Movies. For a moment, it appears that he really believes what he's saying, until he comes to a realization. Stanley readily admits that the lack of a metaphysical reality means that there is no hope or purpose at all in life. Stanley first meets Caroline Catledge (Erica Leershen) and her husband George (Jeremy Shamos), who both show concern over Caroline's brother Brice (Hamish Linklater), who is smitten with this so-called medium. “I don’t know who I hate more,” he says at one point, “those who prey on the gullible” or the susceptible victims seduced by their lies. (The predictability is so absolute that such an outline can hardly count as a spoiler.) Over a drink, Howard asks Stanley to travel with him to the French Riviera to see a wealthy family that have been enchanted by a young woman claiming to be a medium. We hear that Vanessa is mostly responsible for raising Stanley, and she is almost infinitely patient when it comes to her nephew’s off-putting arrogance. They switch partners, giving Stanley and Sophie a chance to walk together. He then hears a knock. Indeed, Woody and Stanley steadfastly reject the idea and possibility of God. Not quite impressed, Stanley admits that he was recently in Berlin on business. There’s a discussion about whether Harry had an affair. Sophie says he already had his chance, and it's gone. Stanley’s expressions of his materialist philosophy are hackneyed and wooden, and the romance rarely rises above the token. Perhaps he did, as it’s hard to imagine when the enduringly prolific 78-year-old could have found the time. After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. But both have moments when they can see how the existence of God—even when only acknowledged by way of the occult—provides the hope and meaning both of them admit they lack. Stanley and Howard meet Brice, who expresses his awe of this woman, as she has apparently seen things about himself that she couldn't have known, giving him a more introspective look on himself. Everyone, even Stanley, is baffled. Magic in the Moonlight is a bit like having lunch with your ageing parents: strained, overly familiar, sometimes amusing but seldom genuinely funny – you count the minutes until it’s over only to spend the rest of the day wishing that it had never ended. Howard reaches to grab it, but sees no evidence of a wire or anything.Stanley still doesn't believe Sophie has any gift, but she is able to shake him a bit when he mentions his uncle and she gets another mental vibration of a "death by water". How festivals are supporting filmmakers through the pandemic, Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project review – History in the making, Why shared viewing experiences are vital to queer audiences, Michael Stuhlbarg: ‘Accidents are what keep art alive’. “I believed that the dull reality of life is all that there is, but you are proof that there’s more,” Stanley tells Sophie breathlessly. He immediately steps out.At the hospital, Stanley is told that Vanessa is being treated by doctors. You see how meaningless. Moments later, George comes in to tell Stanley that his aunt has been in a car accident. One of Wei Ling Soo’s female assistants has a costume with cones accentuating her breasts. On stage he’s “Wei Ling Soo” (a flagrantly orientalist character complete with yellow-face and a Fu Manchu mustache), but underneath the iffy getup he’s a master illusionist with a stiff upper lip and a flagging sense of wonder. Grace is eager to see if she can really speak to her husband. So when someone suggests that another person’s prayers for Vanessa are what helped bring her through surgery, Stanley snaps, “God had nothing to do with it. [Spoilers are contained in the following sections.] Nothing bodes worse for a new Woody Allen movie than it coming in the wake of a good Woody Allen movie. Despite Sophie’s serious flaws (which are unveiled as the film progresses), Stanley finds that she has opened his heart to the possibility of something bigger than his utterly rational naturalistic worldview usually allows, and he’s subsequently happier than he’s ever been in his whole life. This cracks Stanley, causing him to believe in Sophie's gifts and acknowledge her as the real deal.On their trip home, his car breaks down. She walks away while he tries to take the offer off the table.Stanley forgives Howard for trying to trick him. She had good doctors.” He also sharply tells Sophie, “I can’t forgive you. Digamos. Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone go back to school in this charmingly off-kilter comedy-thriller from Woody Allen. He is approached by his old friend and fellow illusionist Howard Burkan (Simon McBurney). As Craig Mathieson remarked recently in the Sydney Morning Herald, previous Allen flops “improve simply by comparison” with this one. It’s revealed that Vanessa cheated with a married man years before. Michael Keaton soars in director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s triumphant return to form. He sits in the living room talking aloud and expressing his regret over not expressing his love for Sophie earlier. Stanley Crawford is an arch atheist, the absolute epitome of modernistic unbelief. 1928 Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is a British illusionist/magical debunker performing a show under the guise of Wei Ling Soo, a Chinese magician. He is heard practicing serenading her. He spends hours taking the engine apart and putting it back, but to no avail. Stanley's task is to reveal her as a fraud. Colin Firth as Stanley Crawford; Emma Stone as Sophie Baker; Marcia Gay Harden as Mrs. Baker; Simon McBurney as Howard Burkan; Eileen Atkins as Aunt Vanessa; Jacki Weaver as Grace Catledge; Hamish Linklater as Brice Catledge; Erica Leerhsen as Caroline Catledge; Jeremy Shamos as George; Catherine McCormack as Olivia. review Firth gamely reprises the Mr Darcy type that launched his career, while Stone is in perfect sync with Allen’s neurotic rhythms, her breezy je ne sais quoi unsurprisingly much easier to appreciate when she’s not being used as Spider-Man bait. He also mentions that he broke it off with Olivia, who happened to be calm about it, as they both realized they weren't right for each other.Stanley returns to Vanessa's home one more time after being rejected. (We hear requests for scotch and whiskey.). He frequently quotes the likes of Nietzsche, Hobbes, Freud and Darwin, the tallest pillars in modernism’s pantheon.