From Paris With Love Examined, Part I: Object Lesson

Holly failed it. Shane nailed it.

It's amazing what some time alone with Oliver's desk can reveal.

Among the many scenes in From Paris with Love that stood out to me, it wasn’t until I had the chance to view the film a few times that two moments, which were seemingly unrelated, suddenly became a perfect pair.


Both Holly and Shane spent unsupervised time at Oliver’s desk, but what each of them chose to focus on in that space demonstrates their vastly differently relationships the object's owner, further supported by each woman’s reflection on things they learned from Oliver.

Holly struggled to choose between his hat, an Eiffel Tower trinket & a specially engraved box.

Since she went first, we’ll start with Holly, who, upon returning to the DLO for the first time, was quite taken with the hat that we haven’t even seen since the pilot . My heart even melted a bit when she smelled it, because you could see her remembering Oliver just by catching a whiff of his scent.

From there, she directed her attention to Oliver’s desk, finding on it both a replica Eiffel Tower and a small box of stamps which she apparently had engraved with “To Oliver, My Hero.” Notice these things had more to do with her than had to do with Oliver. She was in Paris (Eiffel Tower), she gave him the box and considered Oliver her “hero,” and she chose the hat, perhaps because it’s the first thing she saw, or maybe she knew it would smell like him and felt nostalgic.

In fact, because we as the audience have watched Oliver grow on a continual basis, it would be up to us to know that Oliver doesn’t wear that hat anymore and, at least as far as I know, I’ve never even seen the Eiffel Tower trinket or the engraved box. Have they been there the whole time? If so, he doesn’t really seem to bother with them the same way he doesn’t bother with the hat. It demonstrates how far back in the past Holly really is at this particular junction. I found that pretty interesting to realize.

Anyway, Holly’s random survey, at least from an observational/analytical standpoint, demonstrated a lack of focus, and a lack of understanding as to who Oliver truly is and what makes him tick. Not only did she fail to sum him up in one item, the items she chose were superficial and failed to reflect who Oliver is and what he stands for.

Sure, Holly wasn't required to pick the most profound item on his desk in order to be relevant, but realize that someone (probably Martha) made the decision to spend valuable story time on this scene. Martha doesn't waste a single word of dialogue, she certainly wouldn't waste the sixty seconds it took for this scene to play out. We're supposed to pay attention.

So, if we contrast this with the one object that Shane chose, it reveals how differently they both relate to Oliver, and, ultimately, how much better Shane knows him.

Hearts all over the world, including mine, shattered into tiny pieces when Shane carefully placed her letter addressed simply to “Postables” on Oliver’s desk. But the situation only became more heartbreaking when, before collecting her box once more, Shane ran her hand over Oliver’s favorite letter opener. Despite the fact she was clearly hurting, and perhaps because of that hurt, she made the conscious decision to take that letter opener with her---take a piece of him with her.

Shane didn’t just choose anything off his desk, she took the one thing closest to Oliver’s heart, and best reflects who he and what he stands for.

Shane nailed it.

I don’t think the disconnect between Oliver and Holly was any surprise once you sat them down together, nor is it a surprise that, after all this time, Shane and Oliver have gotten quite close. I simply did not expect these two seemingly unrelated moments to visually and emotionally reflect these intertwined realities.

Two women, two very different answers.

Don’t believe me? Here’s more proof...

Remember that each woman shared the one thing they had learned from Oliver in the film. Remember how each responded:

Holly:
“If you wanna be a grown-up, you gotta be your own hero.”

Shane:
“If there’s one thing that Oliver has taught me---it’s that things happen all the time that at first may seem all wrong. But when we have faith that something greater might be at work, those things just end up working together for good.”

Harder to ignore the conclusion now, isn’t it?

I’m not sure when I’ve ever heard Oliver dole out such secular advice as being one’s own hero---that’s not even in his value system. Yes, he may have mentioned the term "hero" when talking with Norman in the Mailbox Grille earlier on, but it wasn't in the same context. Oliver knows he can be nothing and achieve nothing but through Christ. He's not perpetuating anything different.

What Shane recalled at Joey’s restaurant is a paraphrase of Romans 8:28, which says: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose."(NIV) Is there anything more important, or closer to Oliver's heart, than his faith?

Hand Martha Williamson all the awards---immediately. This is brilliant beyond words.

I’ll let you think on this a bit. But don’t think on it too long, because you’ll want to come back later this week for the next installment in this series. I'm still deciding which topic should come next---or else I would tease it!

See you next time!



Much #POstable Love,
~C