You either love Woody Allen or you don't. There's no in-between at this point. The director/writer has been on a creative roll for a number of years, particularly since Midnight in Paris from 2011. His latest work, Magic in the Moonlight, is a conundrum set in France. In the late-1920s, between the cataclysmic world wars, Allen sets forth a narrative focused on illusion and reality, truth and fiction, love and cynicism. It's at once a lark and an accomplished, beautifully constructed work. Ultimately a disappointment considering it comes after the excellent Blue Jasmine, Magic still has its moments, and fans of Allen's brand of filmmaking will find enough to savor here. Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth), a renowned stage magician performing under the pseudonym of Wei Ling Soo—a crafty “Oriental” Fu Manchu-styled conjurer—journeys to the south of France to investigate a suspected fraud and grifter, the beautiful and enticing young clairvoyant Sophie Baker (Emma Stone). Crawford and Baker immediately clash, but there is a strong sense of romantic tension as well. This is romantic comedy 101, and we know that Crawford will eventually break and succumb to Baker's spacey allure. He thrusts with intent, she feints, and the two eventually entwine. Filmed by cinematographer Darius Khondji, the movie is splendid to behold. Allen always makes his landscapes and cityscapes look lovely, a sort of middle-brow wish-fulfillment for a certain kind of privileged white person. But there's a reason why Allen has always mattered, mainly due to his precise comic timing as a writer, performer and director. What makes Magic in the Moonlight worthwhile despite the fact that many of Allen's trademarks are missing is that Firth and Stone generate an odd chemistry in their May-December romance and that the historical setting gives Allen a canvas to play this farce out with a dash of continental style. Firth is wonderful yet frustrating as the cynical and dour magician, and Stone gives one of her most entrancing yet glancing performances so far. Allen strives to make real insights into the battle of romantic love, but ultimately the movie feels philosophically hollow, too long and narratively simplistic. It's a good effort, but it feels like a half-formed rough draft.