Magic in the Moonlight

Like any magician, Woody Allen is practised in the art of distraction, often falling back on great casting and witty dialogue to hold up his lesser works. Magic in the Moonlight would be a case in point, but the banter between leads Colin Firth and Emma Stone doesn't have the crackle to lift its flat story about a conjurer and a self-proclaimed psychic. Allen does create a seductive scenario: summer on the Côte d'Azur during the Jazz Age, where Stone's small-town American gal is thrilling the chattering classes with her alleged gift for second sight. Firth is the British illusionist who has found fame in the guise of a Chinese mystic and debunks mediums just for fun. He's got his eye on Stone - in more ways than one. Unfortunately, he is also a miserable so-and-so who comes across as loud and overbearing, while Stone simpers away. Eileen Atkins brings some good humour as Firth's straight-talking aunt, but everyone else here is cast in a dim light.