A meditation on isolation and celebrity that has to be seen in the context of Sofia’s brilliant oeuvre. These are hermetically-sealed worlds- Virgin Suicides, The Beguiled— privilege- Bling Ring, Marie Antoinette
Opens with a metaphor that annoyed some but I loved it- Stephen Dorff is literally driving his Ferrari in circles on a road to nowhere then spends the bulk of the film in his Hotel California hell—Bonfire of the Vanities
Golden Lion in Venice winner
A tone poem—I wish the visuals were a little stronger (we’d have a sure must-see top 5 of the year film) but still- more European or art-house in atmosphere and total lack of care for a plot—all of her work is like this
Malaise and ennui—Antonioni
Car is a constant metaphor—it breaks down—then he leaves it for the powerful finale
Phoenix score- they’ve worked with Coppola—there’s not much there till the “love is like a sunset” final
The opposite of Lynn Ramsay—Coppola’s characters are not post-trauma zombies, they are sleepwalking (literally falls asleep as part of the form) and lost in their insulated world. Dorff says “I’m not even a person” to his ex-wife
Great film form all over the place from Coppola- we have the twin strippers, he’s constantly looking at the found and surrounded by pills and beer. This doesn’t make for narrative but that’s not the goal—unlike some of her best work (Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette) or like Antonioni’s similarly themed work (L E’clisse) it doesn’t make for great visuals either. Another reoccurrence is Dorff falling asleep with strippers dancing and in a girl’s lap. Meets Benicio Del Toro in the elevator. Massage from a guy. He has no idea what day of the week it is. It’s sad/funny
Duration and repetition
We need more of the gorgeous zoom of the father/daughter laying by the pool and less Nintendo Wii playing to make this a masterpiece
Exactly half way through the film the ex-wife says “she’s yours” about daughter- great form
Elle Fanning’s daughter- she cooks, they get a song sung to them on the couch, Dorff’s brother and her uncle is a good guy learning about her—there’s growth here, the underwater tea part—this is life and it’s unsentimentally realized by Coppola in the day to day
Again, it’s not beautiful (Marie Antoinette) and Coppola is no great writer- she’s about capturing tone and form—closer to Jarmusch—repetition but not a Jarmuschian fish out of water premise- she has her world’s well established
Repetition of his clothe, flannel, white t, glances from and to women
Leave A Comment