This week's movie, Midnight in Paris, is a very layered and interesting story. I found it extremely insightful for my own life as a writer because there are many similarities between Gil's (Owen Wilson) writing style and my own. And this movie offers a lot of help for someone who is struggling to become a writer because it gives practical advice. It tells you to let your imagination take over your logical brain. And it makes you embrace the world you live in, instead of using excuses for why you aren't writing better (like, "I don't live in the golden age").
The first scene I have chosen for my blog is the meeting of Gil and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stall). In this scene, Gil tries and fails to explain what his novel is actually about. He then tells Hemingway that he has been scared to let anyone read his book because he just doesn't trust anyone. This scene shows the first real correlation between Gil's writing and Gil's life. He is not confident within his relationship or even in his career as a screenwriter. He is hesitant to trust people around him because no one seems to support his decisions. Inez (Rachel McAdams) cannot understand why he would want to move to Paris and become a novelist since he is a successful screenwriter in Hollywood. This scene shows the parallel between what Gil has written and what he is experiencing firsthand.
The second scene I have picked for the blog is Adriana (Marion Cotillard) and Gil's conversation in 1890s Paris. She is convinced that they are now in the "golden age," but Gil has an epiphany about life, which can be applied to his own writing. He realizes that when he writes, he is trying to escape his present. Yet he realizes that there isn't a "golden age" because people in that "golden age" are looking even further back in history at another perfect time. Gil says that you will always want something more because life is unsatisfying while you are living it. Then, he says, "If I ever want to write something worthwhile, I have to get rid of my illusions." He realizes that you have to write for the time you live in and embrace everything around you. You cannot live nor write in the past.
The first scene I have chosen for my blog is the meeting of Gil and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stall). In this scene, Gil tries and fails to explain what his novel is actually about. He then tells Hemingway that he has been scared to let anyone read his book because he just doesn't trust anyone. This scene shows the first real correlation between Gil's writing and Gil's life. He is not confident within his relationship or even in his career as a screenwriter. He is hesitant to trust people around him because no one seems to support his decisions. Inez (Rachel McAdams) cannot understand why he would want to move to Paris and become a novelist since he is a successful screenwriter in Hollywood. This scene shows the parallel between what Gil has written and what he is experiencing firsthand.
The second scene I have picked for the blog is Adriana (Marion Cotillard) and Gil's conversation in 1890s Paris. She is convinced that they are now in the "golden age," but Gil has an epiphany about life, which can be applied to his own writing. He realizes that when he writes, he is trying to escape his present. Yet he realizes that there isn't a "golden age" because people in that "golden age" are looking even further back in history at another perfect time. Gil says that you will always want something more because life is unsatisfying while you are living it. Then, he says, "If I ever want to write something worthwhile, I have to get rid of my illusions." He realizes that you have to write for the time you live in and embrace everything around you. You cannot live nor write in the past.
Cool insight! One of the most important messages of the movie is certainly the message that everyone wants to be somewhere else and sees something else as being better. At the end of the day, though, you have to make do with what you have. As the audience, we are blinded from this perception at the beginning of the movie. Gil views the 1920's as a romantic time, so that is what he and the audience sees (and honestly, a large part of the audience probably had the same romanticized idea...because flappers! and Paris!). It isn't until he gets used to the 1920's world (and the audience does too) that we see more of the universal human themes running through the movie. Adriana wants to escape her life too for various reasons. Writing requires use of the imagination but at least some grounding in reality as a starting-off point.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you say that the movie offers good advice to budding writers. I definitely understand Gil’s fear of allowing anyone to read his work, as I am very hesitant about that sort of thing as well. I also like the scenes that you chose for your blog, as they illustrate Gil’s growth and self-discovery. This is metaphorical to the writing process. My first English professor at Loyola said that the word “essay” means “an attempt,” and that writing is a process of discovery. This is certainly true of Gil, who, as you pointed out, cannot even describe his novel’s topic at the beginning of the movie. However, after he makes the discovery that living in the present is better than yearning for the past, he is able to complete his novel. Thus, Gil’s personal growth is directly related to the growth of his writing.
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