Midnight in Paris Beat Sheet

The story at a glance

Midnight in Paris Screenplay: The Story at a Glance

Woody Allen’s screenplay for Midnight in Paris is a time-travel story built like a romantic comedy: a man who believes he was born in the wrong era gets to test that belief every night at midnight. The beat sheet below tracks the script page by page. Here is the whole story compressed to its working parts.

The story profile

PROTAGONIST: Gil Pender, 40, screenwriter and aspiring novelist
CHARACTER FLAW: Naive & neurotic / Golden-aged thinking
EXTERNAL WANT: To live in Paris
INTERNAL NEED: To find true love
MAIN OPPOSITION: Inez
THEME: Live in the present, not the past.
THE QUESTION THE STORY ASKS: Will Gil overcome his unhealthy marriage and obsession with the past, and find true love in the present?
ENDING: Gil leaves Inez and officially moves to Paris, optimistic about the future.
ARC: Gil goes from a man who believes his life would have been better in another time, to a man who embraces the future.

The four acts

Midnight in Paris Beat Sheet: The Four Acts in Brief

Each act summary below expands into a full page-by-page breakdown further down the page.

Act I

Gil’s infatuated with Paris, but his wife, Inez, does not share his enthusiasm. Gil wanders Paris at night and gets lost. He finds a place to rest, and at midnight, he gets inside an old car that transports him to the 1920’s. There, he meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, as well as Ernest Hemingway, who offers to give Gil’s new novel to Gertrude Stein.

Act II-A

Hemingway introduces Gil to Gertrude Stein, who agrees to critique his novel. She reads the first paragraph aloud. Gil’s words capture the interest of the beautiful Adriana. Gil discovers Adriana has a love for the past as he does. Later, the two bond, but Gil reveals his engagement to Inez, prompting her to move on.

Act II-B

Gil finds Adriana’s old diary from a book market. An excerpt reveals her interest in Gil over the other men in her life. He later finds Adriana and they travel back to the 1890’s. When Adriana informs Gil of her intent to stay in the 1890’s, Gil elects to leave her for the future.

Act III

Gil confronts Inez over her affair with Paul, which she admits to. Gil then leaves Inez, electing to stay in Paris and not return home. Walking along the Pont Alexandre III, Gil sees Gabrielle, the girl from the flea market. When it starts to rain, Gabrielle says she believes Paris is the most beautiful in the rain. Gil walks her home in the rain.

How to read it

Midnight in Paris: Full Beat Sheet

The full beat sheet follows the structure of the screenplay: four acts, each broken into sequences, each sequence broken into beats. The number in front of every beat is the page of the shooting script where it lands, so a beat reads as a location in the document, not a stopwatch reading.

The major turns are named for what happens in the film rather than borrowed from a structure manual. Here is the key, with the conventional structural term in parentheses:

Setups and their payoffs are flagged in italics where they occur, so the reader can watch the script plant a line on one page and cash it on another.

Act I / pages 1 to 29

Act I

Sequence I: Paris, and a man in love with it

Sequence I: Establishing the beauty of Paris and Gil’s infatuation with the city. His wife, Inez, does not share his enthusiasm.

Opening Image

Opening image / page 1

1 – OPENING IMAGES: Paris. Present day.

3 – Paris in and after the rain.

4 – Paris at night.

Page 5: Monet’s Gardens

5 – Overlooking Monet’s Gardens, GIL PENDER pontificates on his love with Paris. His wife, INEZ, seems indifferent to his enthusiasm.

GIL
This is unbelievable. Look at this. There's no city like this in the world. There never was!
INEZ
You act like you've never been here before.
GIL
I don't get here often enough. That's the problem. Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain? Imagine this town in the twenties. Paris in the twenties. In the rain. The artists and the writers.
INEZ
Why does every city have to be in the rain? What's wonderful about getting wet?
You could ever picture us moving here after we're married?
INEZ
Oh God, no. I could never live out of the United States.
GIL
You know, if I had stayed here and written novels and not gotten, you know, caught up in that… just grinding out movie scripts. I'll tell you something: I would drop the house in Beverly Hills, the pool, everything in a second… I mean, look, this is where Monet lived and painted. We're thirty minutes from town. Imagine the two of us settling here. We could do it. I mean, if my book turns out…
INEZ
You're in love with a fantasy.
GIL
I'm in love with you.

Sequence II: Inez’s people, and the pedantic Paul

Sequence II: Gil doesn’t seem to fit in with Inez’s parents or her friends, Paul and Carol, who invite them on a tour of Versailles. On the trip, Inez reveals the difficulties Gil’s having with his new novel to Paul, who, in turn, pompously ridicules its theme and the people it appeals to. Inez seems to admire and respect Paul’s intellect.

6 – Gil and Inez meet with her parents, JOHN and HELEN. Gil is the only one who seems enthusiastic about the city.

7 – Over lunch, Inez’s father reveals he’s in Paris on a new business venture and that he doesn’t care for French politics.

GIL
You can't exactly blame them for not following us down that rabbit's hole in Iraq. With the whole Bush --
INEZ
Oh, please. Let's not get into that --
GIL
No, honey, we're not getting in… by the way, it's fine for your father and I to disagree. That's what a democracy is. Your father defends the right wing of the republican party and I happen to think you've almost gotta be…like a demented lunatic, but --
INEZ
Okay, okay.
GIL
That doesn't mean we don't respect each other's views.
(to John)
Am I right?
Looking Gil dead in the eye, John remains silent.

7 – Two friends from the states, PAUL and CAROL, bump into Gil and Inez at the restaurant.

Page 9: the old crush on Paul

9 – Gil and Inez argue over spending time with Paul and Carol. Inez admits she used to have a crush on Paul. Gil calls him a “pseudo-intellectual” and Inez defends Paul. Further, Inez suggests Paul should critique Gil’s novel, as he’s having difficulty with it.

INEZ
Gil, honey, just promise me something. If this book doesn't pan out, that you'll stop beating your brains out and just go back to doing what you do best. The studios adore you, you're in demand. Do you really want to give it all up just to struggle?

Golden-aged thinking, named on page 10

10 – Touring Versailles with Paul and Carol, Inez, much to Gil’s dismay, reveals the difficulty and uncertainly Gil’s having with his new novel. She goes further to explain Gil’s obsession with Paris in the twenties…

PAUL
You know, nostalgia is denial. Denial of the painful present.
INEZ
Oh, Gil is a complete romantic. He would be more than happy living in a complete state of perpetual denial.
PAUL
And the name of this fallacy is called "golden-aged thinking."
INEZ
Touche.
PAUL
The erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one one's living in. It's a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.

Pages 12 to 14: Helen’s worry, and Rodin’s wife

12 – Inez and her mother fantasize about the attention Inez’s wedding ring will garner. Helen brings up Gil and his obsession with Paris. Inez firmly believes he won’t ever move, that he just likes to talk about it. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Helen’s worried about.

14 – With Inez and Gil in tow, Paul argues with their GUIDE over whether Rodin’s wife was Camille or Rose. Paul firmly believes Camille was Rodin’s wife (he is wrong). Gil sides with the Guide even though he hasn’t a clue.

Sequence III: Lost at midnight

Sequence III: Opting for a walk instead of dancing with Paul, Carol, and Inez, Gil wanders Paris at night and gets lost. He finds a place to rest, and at midnight, gets inside an old car that transports him to the 1920’s. There, he meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, as well as Ernest Hemingway, who offers to give Gil’s new novel to Gertrude Stein.

15 – A bit drunk after a wine tasting, Paul and Carol invite Gil and Inez dancing. Gil prefers a walk, even though Inez wants to go with Paul and Carol. Inez insists on going, so Gil parts with his wife for the evening.

16 – OFFER TO HEMINGWAY SETUP: In Gil’s absence, Paul questions Inez on whether Gil is fit to be a novelist or not. She claims Gil has not let anyone — herself included — read his novel. Paul says he’d be happy to critique it for him. Inez agrees, believing that’s exactly what Gil needs.

INEZ
The problem is, when it comes to his writing, he has absolutely no respect for anybody else's opinion.

17 – After walking a bit too far, Gil’s lost.

The Midnight Car

Inciting incident / page 18

18 – On a quiet block, Gil rests on some steps as a clock strikes midnight. An old car pulls to a stop. Its passengers invite Gil for a ride. Though reluctant at first, Gil accepts.

19 – In the car, everyone is dressed from another period. They insist Gil drink. He doesn’t put up much of a fight.

20 – Arriving at a party, Gil notices everyone is dressed from the twenties. A piano man sings Cole Porter’s “Let’s Fall In Love” just like Cole Porter.

The Fitzgeralds, Bricktop’s and Hemingway

21 – A woman with a thick Southern accent approaches Gil, claiming he seems out of place. She gets out of him that he’s a writer before her husband shows up. They introduce themselves as SCOTT & ZELDA FITZGERALD.

23 – Scott and Zelda invite Gil to Bricktops. Gil accepts.

23 – Gil and The Fitzgeralds watch someone dance that looks like Josephine Baker….

INT. BRICKTOP'S CLUB - NIGHT
The group is watching someone like Josephine Baker. Gil is stunned by it all. The Fitzgerald's drink a lot.

24 – Gil is drunk at Bricktops, not quite sure what’s happening to him.

Page 25: Ernest Hemingway

25 – At Vins Fins Liquor, Scott introduces Gil to ERNEST HEMINGWAY.

25 – Probing Hemingway for his opinion on her latest work, Hemingway insults Zelda’s writing and she leaves Scott with the writers. Not long after a little ribbing from Hemingway, Scott chases after her.

27 – Hemingway questions Gil about his novel. Gil tells of a protagonist who works in a nostalgia shop. When Hemingway asks what a nostalgia shop is, Gil questions the choice. Hemingway immediately chimes in…

HEMINGWAY
No subject is terrible if the story is true, and if the prose is clean and honest, and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.

28 – OFFER TO HEMINGWAY PAYOFF: Gil asks Hemingway to read his novel, but Hemingway declines.

GIL
Would you read it?
HEMINGWAY
Your novel?
GIL
It's only about four hundred pages - if you could just give me your opinion.
HEMINGWAY
My opinion is that I hate it.
GIL
You do?
HEMINGWAY
If it's bad I'll hate it because I hate bad writing and if it's good I'll be envious and hate it all the more. You don't want the opinion of another writer.

The Manuscript Offer

End of Act I / page 28

28 – Hemingway offers to have Gertrude Stein read Gil’s novel, as she’s the only one he trusts with his writing. Hemingway asks for Gil’s novel and Gil immediately leaves to go get it.

29 – Down the street, Gil realizes he never arranged a place to meet Hemingway. Walking back to the bar, Gil finds a laundry mat in its place: He’s back in the present day.

Act II-A / pages 30 to 58

Act II-A

Sequence I: The second midnight, with Hemingway in the car

Sequence I: Hemingway introduces Gil to Gertrude Stein, who agrees to critique his novel. She reads the first paragraph aloud. Gil’s words capture the interest of the beautiful Adriana, Pablo Picasso’s lover. Gil discovers Adriana has a love for the past as he does.

30 – Morning. Back at the hotel, Gil attempts to talk with Inez about his evening with the Fitzgeralds and Hemingway, but she dismisses it as “idle chatter” and insists he get ready. Gil tells her he wishes to stay and work on his novel, but Inez demands he get up and go with her.

31 – Gil shops for furniture with Inez and Helen. When Helen attempts to talk Inez into purchasing a chair for 18,000 euros, Gil says they are cutting back on expenses so he doesn’t have to “take any crummy rewrite jobs.” Helen seems offended, saying “cheap is cheap” and “you get what you pay for” as she walks away.

Page 32: Paris in the rain, planted

32 – PARIS IN THE RAIN SETUP: Leaving the shop, it begins to rain. Gil attempts to talk Inez into walking home with him in the rain, but she declines, saying, “there’s nothing beautiful about walking in the rain.”

32 – Carrying his manuscript, Gil takes Inez to the steps where the car transported him before.

33 – Inez grows impatient and tired, and leaves Gil alone.

Pages 34 to 35: Hemingway on death and love

34 – The clock strikes midnight and the old car appears again. Hemingway’s inside this time.

35 – In the car, Hemingway talks about war and death.

HEMINGWAY
You'll never write well if you fear dying. Do you?
GIL
Yeah, I do. I'd say it's probably… might be my greatest fear, actually.
HEMINGWAY
Well, it's something all men before you have done and all men will do.
GIL
I know. I know.
HEMINGWAY
Have you ever made love to a truly great woman?
GIL
Actually, my fiancé is pretty sexy.
HEMINGWAY
And when you make love to her you feel true and beautiful passion, and you, for at least for that moment, you lose your fear of death?
GIL
No. That doesn't happen.
HEMINGWAY
I believe that love that is true and real creates a respite from death. All cowardice comes from not loving or not loving well, which is the same thing. When a man who is brave and true looks death squarely in the face, like some rhino hunters I know, or Bellmonte, who is truly brave, it is because they love with sufficient passion to push death out of their minds. Until it returns, as it does to all men, and then you must make really good love again. Think about it.

Gertrude Stein, Picasso and the portrait of Adriana

37 – Hemingway introduces Gil to GERTRUDE STEIN, currently in the middle of critiquing PABLO PICASSO’s latest work, a painting of his lover, ADRIANA.

STEIN
Look what he's done to her - dripping with sexual innuendo. Carnal to the point of smoldering and yes she's beautiful but it's a subtle beauty - an implied sensuality.
(to Gil)
What is your first impression of Adriana?
GIL
(very taken)
….. Exceptionally lovely.

The First Paragraph

First test / page 38

38 – Gil hands over his novel to Stein, who reads the first paragraph aloud. Adriana reacts first, saying she’s hooked.

39 – Gil approaches Adriana…

GIL
Did my opening lines really get to you that strongly?
ADRIANA
The past has always had a great charisma for me.

39 – Gil discovers Adriana has a love for the past as he does. Her perfect time was Belle Epoque.

Sequence II: Gabrielle, and the Orangerie

Sequence II: Later, at the L’Orangerie Museum, Gil corrects Paul on the facts surrounding Picasso’s painting of Adriana.

44 – Out shopping with Inez and her mother, Gil hears an old Cole Porter tune playing on a record. He speaks briefly with a woman named GABRIELLE, who also shares a passion for Porter, before Inez interrupts and whisks them away to their next destination.

45 – At the L’Orangerie Museum, Paul, Carol, Inez and Gil are in the circular room with the large Monet painting. Gil attempts to join the conversation, but Inez silences him in effort to let Paul educate them on Monet.

The Orangerie Correction

First open clash / page 46

46 – In another area, the group stumbles upon the Picasso’s painting of Adriana….

PAUL
If I'm not mistaken he painted this marvelous portrait of his French mistress Madeline Brissou in the twenties.
GIL
Er - I have to differ with you on this one.
PAUL
Really?
INEZ
Gil pay attention and you'll learn something.
GIL
If I'm not mistaken this was a failed attempt to capture a young French girl named Adriana - from Bordeaux - if my art history serves me - came to Paris to study costume design for the theatre. Believe she had a brief affair with Modigliani - then Braque - that's where Pablo met her - er Picasso. You'd never know it from this portrait but she's quite subtly beautiful.

Sequence III: The carousel, the river and the cafe

Sequence III: Gil gets closer to Adriana, but reveals his engagement to Inez after preventing Zelda Fitzgerald from killing herself. Adriana declines his invitation to walk her home.

47 – GIL FOLLOWED SETUP: At dinner with her parents, Inez rushes to finish because she’s going dancing with Paul. Gil is off on “one of his walks” and Carol is recovering from food sickness. She leaves and John indicates interest in having Gil followed.

JOHN
Where does Gil go every night?
HELEN
You heard her. He walks and gets ideas.
JOHN
I don't know. I see what he earns but sometimes I think he's got a part missing. And I didn't like his remark about tea party Republicans. They're decent people who want to take back the country...
HELEN
Nevertheless I hardly think your idea of having him followed is practical.
JOHN
No? I'd like to know where he goes every night.
HELEN
Well we know one thing - he doesn't go dancing.

Pages 49 to 52: the carousel, and a walk through Paris

49 – Out dancing, Gil bumps into Adriana. She takes Gil to an old carousel from the turn of the century, caught up in its beauty. She reveals she has broken up with Picasso.

52 – Gil and Adriana walk Paris together.

GIL
There's no book or painting, or symphony or sculpture that can rival a great city. All these streets and boulevards are a special art form. When you think in the cold, violent, meaningless universe Paris exists - these lights - I mean nothing's happening on Jupiter or Neptune or out beyond - but from way out in space you can see these lights in whole dark void - the cafes, people drinking and dancing - I mean for all we know this is the hottest spot in the entire universe.

Zelda at the river, and the pill of the future

54 – Walking alongside the river, Gil and Adriana stop Zelda Fitzgerald from taking her own life. Gil assures Zelda that Scott loves her and gives her a Valium.

ZELDA
What is this?
GIL
A Valium - it'll calm you down.
ADRIANA
Only since Inez and I became engaged. I've had these anxiety attacks - I'm sure after the wedding they'll subside.
ZELDA
I never heard of Valium. What is this?
GIL
Er - it's the pill of the future.

Page 55: the Bohemian cafe

55 – At a Bohemian Cafe, Adriana confronts Gil over his upcoming marriage…

ADRIANA
You never said you were getting married.
GIL
Yes - I - I mean it's in the future.
ADRIANA
Well good luck with your book and your wedding.
GIL
You'd like Inez - she has a sharp sense of humor - and she's sexy - not that we agree on everything.
ADRIANA
But the important things.
GIL
Actually the small things - the important things we don't - she'd like to live in Malibu and that I'd work in Hollywood - but I will say we both like - er - er Indian food - not all Indian food - pita bread - we both like pita bread.

Adriana Walks Out

Midpoint / page 55

55 – Adriana walks out of the cafe, politely refusing Gil’s offer to walk her home.

Dali, Man Ray and Bunuel see a rhinoceros

57 – At the cafe, Gil chats with SALVADOR DALI, MAN RAY, and LUIS BUNUEL.

DALI
Pender is in perplexing situation.
GIL
It sounds so crazy when I say it and you'll think I'm drunk but I've got to tell someone I'm from a different time - a whole other era - the future - and I pass from the two thousandth millennium to here - a car picks me up - I slide through time -
MAN RAY
Exactly correct - you inhabit two worlds - so far I see nothing strange.
GIL
Look, you're surrealists - but I'm a normal guy - See, in one life I'm engaged to marry a woman I love - at least I think I love her. Christ, I'm supposed to love her if I'm marrying her.
DALI
The rhinoceros makes love by mounting the female - but is there difference in beauty between two rhinoceroses?
MAN RAY
There is another woman?
GIL
Adriana is her name. And I felt drawn to her - but it wouldn't matter - men much greater than me, profound artists - she's drawn to geniuses - and they to her.
MAN RAY
A man in love with a woman from a different era. I see a photograph.
BUNEL
I see a film.
GIL
I see an insurmountable problem.
DALI
I see - a rhinoceros.

Act II-B / pages 59 to 84

Act II-B

Sequence I: Rodin’s two women, and a detective

Sequence I: Gil questions the Guide from the Rodin Museum Garden over the loves of Rodin’s life. Inez’s father hires a private investigator to shadow Gil. Stein offers her first critique of Gil’s work, saying he must not be such a defeatist.

59 – At the hotel room, Inez eats breakfast after her shower. Gil makes sexual advances, but she rejects them, putting more importance on their upcoming lunch with Paul and Carol.

60 – At the Rodin Museum Garden, Gil tracks down the Guide from their previous visit. He asks her about Rodin and his mistress, posing the question, “Is it possible to be in love with two women?” The Guide replies that Rodin “loved both in different ways.”

Pages 61 to 63: a detective, T.S. Eliot and Stein’s first notes

61 – GIL FOLLOWED PAYOFF: John meets with DUBOIS, a private investigator, regarding Gil. John wants to be certain Gil is not cheating on his daughter. Dubois puts TISSERANT on the case.

61 – Gil gets into the car at midnight, this time gets to chat with TS ELLIOT. Tisserant observes.

62 – Stopping by Stein’s place, Stein reveals Adriana has left Picasso for Hemingway.

63 – Stein comments on Gil’s book, offering advice…

STEIN
Now about your book. Very unusual indeed. In a way it's almost science fiction. We all fear death and question our place in the universe. It's the artist's job not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote to the emptiness of existence. I find your voice clear and lively - don't be such a defeatist.

Sequence II: Adriana’s diary

Sequence II: Gil thumbs through an old diary from a book market, only to discover it was Adriana’s. The Guide from the Rodin Museum Garden translates it for him: Adriana was attracted to him. An excerpt reveals she had a dream where he bought her earrings and then they made love.

63 – As they load their car outside the hotel, Inez reveals to her parents that Gil will not be joining them for their weekend getaway.

65 – Gil walks back to the market and buys a Cole Porter record from Gabrielle.

65 – At a book market, Gil buys an old diary. The screenplay reveals what the film initially does not: “This diary belongs to Adriana Dupree.”

Page 66: the diary, translated

66 – At the Notre Dame Garden, the Guide translates Adriana’s diary for Gil.

GUIDE
I'm in love with an American writer I just met named Gil Pender.
His eyes widen.
GUIDE
(continuing)
That immediate magic one hears about happened to me. I know that both Picasso and Hemingway are in love with me but for whatever inexplicable reasons the heart has, I am drawn to Gil. Perhaps because he seems naive and unassuming. As always in this sad life he is about to marry a woman named Inez. I had a dream where he came to me and brought me a little gift - earrings they were - and we made love.

Sequence III: Stolen earrings, bought earrings

Sequence III: Gil narrowly avoids Inez’s wrath after attempting to take her earrings for Adriana. He ultimately buys Adriana a new pair. Traveling back, he gives his latest rewrite to Stein, who informs Gil that Adriana would like to see him. Gil finds Adriana and later, they kiss. She calls his gift of earrings “remarkable.”

67 – Back at the hotel, Gil steals a pair of Inez’s earrings and puts them inside a small box.

68 – Moments before Gil leaves, Inez and her parents come back: They had to cut their trip short because John complained of chest pains.

INEZ
Why are you so dressed up?
GIL
Me? No - I was just writing.
INEZ
You dress and put on cologne to write?
GIL
I took a break and showered. I think better in the shower. All those positive ions.

Pages 69 to 71: the missing pearls

69 – INEZ HATES GIL’S GIFTS SETUP: Inez spots the box in Gil’s hand. He tells her it’s her gift, but for a special occasion. She hopes it’s not jewelry, because Gil doesn’t always understand her taste.

70 – Inez searches for her pearl earrings (then ones Gil wrapped for Adriana), but can’t find them. Her mother suggests ones of the hotel maids stole them and Inez calls the hotel to report a theft. Gil begs her to not report the maid, but only angers Inez. The doctor comes in and interrupts their argument.

71 – While the doctor examines John, Gil runs to the bedroom and magically discovers the earrings.

The Earrings

Gil takes the initiative / page 72

72a – Gil goes to the market and buys earrings from a vendor.

72b – Tisserant follows Gil, observing him leave inside the car again.

72c – Gil drops off the first few chapters into his rewrite to Stein. She informs him that Adriana’s relationship with both Hemingway and Picasso is over. She tells Gil where Adriana is, telling him “she’ll be glad to see you.”

The kiss, and a gift that lands

73 – Gil approaches Adriana at wedding for artist types. He doesn’t waste time getting to what’s on his mind…

GIL
Let's just say as a writer I see into women's souls and I sense that you have very complicated feelings towards me.
ADRIANA
But you're going to be married.

Page 75: immortal, for a moment

75 – At a “romantic locale,” Gil kisses Adriana

ADRIANA
What are you doing?
GIL
I don't know but I do know that for a brief moment, when I was doing it, I felt - immortal.
ADRIANA
But - you look so sad.
GIL
Because life is too mysterious for me.
ADRIANA
It's the time we live in. Everything moves so fast - life is noisy and complicated - not like the Belle Epoque. In those years Paris lived only for beauty.
GIL
I've always been a logical person. I never took chances - did anything crazy - like move here when I first came or take a shot at being a real writer, not a Hollywood hired hand - but I feel like letting everything go.

76 – INEZ HATES GIL’S GIFTS PAYOFF: Gil gives Adriana earrings. She calls them “remarkable.”

Sequence IV: The Belle Epoque

Sequence IV: Gil and Adriana travel back to the 1890’s, to the Belle Epoque. They visit Moulin Rouge and talk with artists who believe the Renaissance was the best era. When Adriana pulls Gil aside and informs him of her intent to stay in the 1890’s, Gil elects to leave her for the future.

77 – Gil and Adriana take an old carriage with two people dressed from the Belle Epoque and end up transported to the 1890’s.

78 – At Maxims, Gil and Adriana slow dance.

79 – Gil and Adriana watch the girls at Moulin Rouge.

81 – Over drinks, Gil and Adriana discuss what they believe to be the best era with HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, PAUL GAUGUIN, and EDGAR DEGAS. The men believe the Renaissance was the best era.

Adriana Stays Behind

End of Act II / page 83

83 – Adriana pulls Gil aside and tells him she wants to stay in the 1890’s.

Choosing the Present

The decision / page 84

84 – Gil confesses he came from 2010 and his doubts of their relationship.

GIL
Last night I dreamed I ran out of Zithromax - and then I went to the dentist and there was no Novocain - these people have no antibiotics -
ADRIANA
What are you talking about?
GIL
And even in the twenties - no dishwashers - no 911 if your appendix bursts - no "movies on demand."
ADRIANA
But if we love act other what does it matter when we live?
GIL
Because if you stay here and this becomes your present, sooner or later you'll imagine another time was really the golden time. And so will I - I'm beginning to see why it can't work, Adriana. The present has a hold on you because it's your present and while there's never any progress in the most important things, you get to appreciate - what little progress is made - the internet - Pepto-Bismol. The present is always going to seem unsatisfying because life itself is unsatisfying - that's why Gauguin goes back and forth between Paris and Tahiti, searching - it's my job as a writer to try and come up with reasons why despite life being tragic and unsatisfying, it's still worth it.

Goodbye, Gil

ADRIANA
That's the problem with writers - you're all so full of words - but I'm more emotional. I'm going to stay and live in Paris' most glorious time. You made a choice to leave Paris once and you regretted it.
GIL
Yes, that one I regretted but it was a real choice and I made the wrong one. This is a choice between accepting reality or surreal insanity.
ADRIANA
So finally you do love Inez more than me.
GIL
No - I love you - but this way lies madness - and if I'm ever going to write anything worthwhile I've got to get rid of my illusions and that I'd be happier in the past is one of them.
ADRIANA
Goodbye, Gil.
GIL
Goodbye, Adriana.
They kiss, she turns and goes to the table of artists.

84 – Gil decides the present is where he needs to be.

Act III / pages 85 to 91

Act III

Sequence I: Hemingway’s note, and the confrontation

Sequence I: Traveling back one last time, Gertrude Stein praises Gil’s novel. She tells him Hemingway read it and offered a suggestion: the protagonist must realize his wife is having an affair. Gil then confronts Inez over her affair with Paul, which she admits to. Gil leaves Inez, electing to stay in Paris and not return home.

85 – Back at Gertrude Stein’s, Stein praises Gil’s novel. She informs him Hemingway read it and made a suggestion…

STEIN
Hemingway finds it hard to believe the protagonist doesn't see his fiancee is having an affair that's going on right before his eyes.
GIL
With -
STEIN
The other character - the pedantic one -
GIL
It's called denial. Thank you.

Hemingway’s Note

The confrontation / page 86

86 – Gil coerces Inez into confessing her affair with Paul.

INT. HOTEL SUITE - DAY
Gil back in present in mid-argument with Inez.
INEZ
You're crazy - Paul and me? Where did you get such an insane notion?
GIL
From Ernest Hemingway. He thought it out and it makes perfect sense.
INEZ
Gil, your brain tumor's acting up again.
GIL
There's nothing crazy about Ernest Hemingway or Gertrude Stein or Fitzgerald or Salvador Dali -
INEZ
Nothing except they've all been dead for years.
GIL
It was William Faulkner who said, the past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past. Actually I ran into Bill Faulkner at a party.
INEZ
You're a raving lunatic.

Page 86: the confession

GIL
I guess I'm too trusting. I'm jealous and also trusting - cognitive dissonance, Scott Fitzgerald speaks of it.
INEZ
Gil -
GIL
I know it Inez - you can fool me but not Hemingway.
INEZ
Jesus Christ I'm dealing with a madman - okay - Paul and I had a few nights alone. We danced, we drank - you were always working - he's very attractive, he spoke to me in French - the whole mystique of this corny city got to me - it's over. We can put this all in perspective at home.
GIL
I'm not going back.
INEZ
What?
GIL
I'm staying here. It's not the romantic fling. Paris is Paris. It's that I'm not in love with you.

Gil Stays in Paris

External climax / page 87

87 – Gil informs Inez of his intentions to stay in Paris.

87 – In mid-argument, John and Helen enter the room. Inez immediately announces their breakup and her parents couldn’t be more thrilled. Gil leaves the room…

JOHN
I had a private detective follow him - I knew he was up to no good.
INEZ
Daddy you didn't.
JOHN
I did. He saw him get into a car at midnight each night and he followed close behind.
HELEN
What happened?
JOHN
I don't know. The detective agency says the detective is missing.

88 – Detective Tisserant enters a period room in Versailles, shocking a COUNT and COUNTESS in midst their breakfast. The countess screams for the guards and Tisserant is chased away.

Sequence II: Midnight, present day, in the rain

Sequence II: Walking along the Pont Alexandre III, Gil bumps into Gabrielle. When it starts to rain, Gabrielle says she believes Paris is the most beautiful in the rain. He walks her home.

90 – Walking along the Pont Alexandre III with the Eiffel Tower framed in the background, it’s midnight in Paris and Gil’s in the present.

90 – Gil bumps into Gabrielle, the girl from the flea market.

Paris in the Rain

Internal climax and PARIS IN THE RAIN payoff / page 91

91 – Just as Gil asks to walk Gabrielle home, it begins to rain.

GIL
Can I walk along with you, or can I buy you a coffee? Oh god, it's starting to rain.
GABRIELLE
That's okay. I don't mind getting wet. Paris is the most beautiful in the rain.

91 – CLOSING IMAGE: Gil walks Gabrielle home in the rain.

91 – THE END.

Golden-age thinking

Golden-Age Thinking: Why the Midnight in Paris Ending Works

The script answers its own thesis with a staircase. Every time Gil goes further back, he meets someone who wants to go further back still. Read the three eras top to bottom and the argument of the Midnight in Paris ending is already made before Gil says a word of it on page 84.

That is the beat Gil is standing on when he makes his choice. Adriana stays on the ladder; Gil steps off it, and the script confirms the decision on page 91 by giving him the one thing he wanted on page 5, Paris in the rain, in the present, with someone who wants it too.

Questions readers bring to this page

Midnight in Paris FAQ: The Ending, the Theme and the Characters

The ending and the theme

The characters and the script

The script

Sources and further reading

Learn More About Midnight in Paris

The page numbers throughout refer to the shooting script, available as a PDF at Script Slug. Background on the production, the cast and the film’s reception is at Wikipedia.

Midnight in Paris screenplay (PDF) at Script Slug
Midnight in Paris at Wikipedia
More beat sheets from ScreenplayHowTo