![]() ![]() This is one of your livelier Sofia Coppola films I suppose, and yet, the director isn't exactly known for keeping consistent with liveliness, so on top of being underdeveloped and overdrawn, this film further challenges engagement value with a rather cold atmosphere, anchored by dry quietness that typically blands things up and often goes so far as to dull things down. At just barely over 100 minutes, this is a relatively brief affair, but, like I said, expository depth is pretty lacking, so in order to break even, this film spends long, long stretches of time presenting, not excess material, but excess filler, which drags on and on until repetitious ensues, then devolves into an aimlessness that challenges your attention, and whose blandness goes exacerbated by atmospheric limpness. It's something of a fad to intentionally underdevelop the focuses of a character study when they're ordinary folks, and while an aging actor and the unusually hot wife of a photographer are certainly more interesting than the usual bums films of this type meditate on, some ambiguities is nice, but not to this degree, as immediate development is borderline nonexistent, and gradual exposition is mighty lacking, which is a problem, largely because these are unique characters who are focused on pretty thoroughly to have only so much flesh-out, and partly because this film wastes too much time on dragging. Oh well, at least we still have this film to keep us going, and yet, quite frankly, even in 2003, I wouldn't have given Coppola the OK to do whatever, because she makes more than a few decisions with this film that are kind of questionable. No, Coppola has had a decent directorial career since 2003 I suppose, but I think she lost something in translation when we gave her an opening to do whatever she wanted to after this film. to me, at least, and besides, it would appear as though little Sofia finally found her place in showbidnuss, or at least that's what we thought when this film first came out. Hey, Francis Ford Coppola had to practically sell his soul to make "The Godfather Part III" and he ended up stuck with his daughter, and we all suffered because of it. Maybe it was his soul or something, which would explain why he's been looking really, really old ever since this film (Hollywood doesn't age like this, Bill), and why he had to work with Sofia Coppola to be in this film. Hm, let's see, he got a big comeback, scored a considerable sum of money, an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win, and got a vacation to Tokyo with one of the more beautiful women on the planet, so I'm kind of lost as to what Murray has lost with this deal. Oh, Bill Murray, I understand your pain, as I'd imagine it would be mighty easy to get lost in someone trying to interact with you when Scarlett Johansson's in room.
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