"I think you get better at staring into space. Especially living in the South of France"
About this Quote
The South of France does heavy lifting here. It’s shorthand for a certain European fantasy: light that flatters everything, long lunches, beaches that slow your pulse, a culture that doesn’t treat rest as a moral failure. Lyne, a filmmaker associated with high-gloss erotic thrillers and charged atmospheres (Fatal Attraction, 9 1/2 Weeks, Unfaithful), isn’t praising emptiness; he’s praising suspension. His films live in the charged interval before action, when desire and dread thicken the air. “Staring into space” is basically his directing style in miniature: letting tension accumulate until it becomes inevitable.
There’s also a wry, self-aware class note. Only certain lives allow the luxury of contemplative drifting, and Lyne knows the cliché he’s invoking. That’s why it lands: it’s both a gentle boast and a sly critique of modern hustle culture, suggesting that imagination isn’t summoned on command - it’s loitered into existence, preferably somewhere with good weather and fewer meetings.
Quote Details
| Topic | Contentment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lyne, Adrian. (2026, January 18). I think you get better at staring into space. Especially living in the South of France. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-you-get-better-at-staring-into-space-3608/
Chicago Style
Lyne, Adrian. "I think you get better at staring into space. Especially living in the South of France." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-you-get-better-at-staring-into-space-3608/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think you get better at staring into space. Especially living in the South of France." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-you-get-better-at-staring-into-space-3608/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.





