"Heard" any good first sentences lately? Midnight in Paris

"Out of the past was the name of the store and its products consisted of memories."
Gil Pender, Midnight in Paris

I have seen the movie “Midnight in Paris” three times in the last three weeks.

Confession: No, I am not a Woody Allen fanatic. Yes, I have seen some of his movies. No, I don’t have to go to his movies on opening weekend. And, yes, you need to make some time over the next few weeks to see this film.

There are many reasons to enjoy this movie and, not in any particular order, here are seven.

1) Paris. Exquisite scenes of Paris. Walking in Paris, talking in Paris, eating in Paris. After a few minutes you will feel like you are actually in Paris.

2) Rachel McAdams. This actress is one of my absolute favorites. She captures each character she portrays so effortlessly, you may not realize all of the films in which you have seen her. The Notebook, The Family Stone, Mean Girls, The Time Traveler’s Wife to name just a few.

3) Owen Wilson. I am a fan of both The Royal Tenenbaums and Zoolander. Go figure. Wilson plays Gil Pender, the screenwriter turned novelist who is the protagonist of the story. He appears to effortlessly capture the “Woodiness” of Gil Pender, the screenwriter turned novelist who is the protagonist of the story.

4) Writers of all shapes and sizes. Writers who talk about writing, live writing and love writing. Writers I grew up with during school assignments or as I rambled through the library looking for classics to fill my summer reading list.

5) \Art, artists and art history. This movie should be required viewing for any art student. Period.

6) The sound of rain falling in Paris. I will leave it at that.

7) One of the best first sentences for a novel not in a novel. Pender, in Woody Allen tradition, is unsure of his book and literary talent. My favorite part of the film is when Gertrude Stein reads aloud the first sentence of Penders manuscript, the only part we hear. Stein says:

“Out of the past was the name of the store

and its products consisted of memories.”

You knew I was going to return to the first sentence. I have heard there are no coincidences, but to be writing for weeks about first sentences and to experience a first sentence in a movie feels like serendipity. Stein, Hemingway and Pender all realize the value of the first sentence. Gil fears ridicule when it is read aloud however the character Adriana immediately loves it and “is hooked.” I was hooked, too. I was hooked, too.

The first sentence of a book in a movie which encompasses the crux of the film. Brilliant. Just brilliant. Could I have asked for anything more as I continue my quest of first sentences? I think not.