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France, Belgium, Luxembourg · 2019
1h 28m
Director Christophe Honoré
Starring Chiara Mastroianni, Vincent Lacoste, Camille Cottin, Benjamin Biolay
Genre Comedy, Drama
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After a big fight with her husband, Maria decides to spend the night in the hotel opposite their apartment. With a bird's eye view into her own home, she contemplates her marriage and her life. The ghosts of past lovers begin visiting her, forcing her to confront her own romantic history in this thoughtful comedy.
Basically a meaner French version of schmaltzy Matthew McConaughey romcom "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (itself one of the worst adaptations of A Christmas Carol) mixed with a French bedroom farce, On a Magical Night shackles itself, as if with Marley's chains, to a thoroughly unlikable protagonist.
Beneath the impish, inventive surface of On A Magical Night lies real emotions around loyalty, devotion and how to ensure love never dies. It is a film as charming as it is touching.
On a Magical Night is a fanciful tale of marriage and its malcontents; a muted sex farce that unfolds like an overwhelmingly French twist on “A Christmas Carol” for people who are sick of their spouses.
Slant Magazine by Diego Semerene
Christophe Honoré deposits all his chips on the comedic premise at the expense of character study and gravitas.
The New York Times by Glenn Kenny
Despite the fantastic premise and the ostensibly comedic bits of business Honoré strews throughout (pay attention to the changing marquee of the cinema on the street where both Maria’s apartment and the hotel are), the movie’s treatment of its themes still too often lists toward a near-ponderous solemnity.
The A.V. Club by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
Despite its welcome breezy and surreal qualities, On A Magical Night has more psychological shortcuts than insights.
On a Magical Night is whimsically cute, provocative in a coy way, and more than a little in love with itself.
There’s a lot of fun mixed in with the somber assessments of a failed relationship. In the end, it’s too much to juggle or do justice to, and On a Magical Night is never quite “could this be the magic at last.”
The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Dalton
Breezy and bright, with the stylized look and feel of a stage play, Honore’s bubbly bottle of cinematic champagne runs out of fizz somewhere around its midway point. Even so, there are still enjoyably shallow pleasures to be savored here.
RogerEbert.com by Tomris Laffly
The film offers some simple-minded insights into the myth of the happily-ever-after, and a dash of nonchalant French charisma. But the whole thing is only as original as a dull midlife crisis, retrofitted into a whimsical screwball mold that feels miscalculated.
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This film felt a lot like a contemporary A Christmas Carol - except with so many more “ghosts” and a focus on a couple on the brink of divorce. While it may seem like a heavy topic, the film was much more comedic than anything else.