Q: What’s the movie about?A: A movie star (Stephen Dorff) is forced to spend an extended period of time with his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning), and in the process comes face to face with the emptiness of his rich and famous life.
Q: Who’s in the movie?A: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Kristina Shannon, Karissa Shannon, Lala Sloatman, Laura Chiatti, Nunzio Alfredo 'Pupi' D'Angieri, Michelle Monaghan, Giorgia Surina, Randa Walker
Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?A:
Go! Intellectual people will love this film for saying so much without saying anything at all. And all the rest of you should see it anyway, because it honestly depicts the loneliness of celebrity, in a real way that will help you run screaming away from your dreams of fame and fortune, while thanking your lucky stars for your anonymity, your closeness to your family, and the joys that come with having to work to get laid.
Q: Will this movie make me laugh?A: Did you find Lost in Translation funny? Because this is the same story, different hotel... It makes you wonder if Francis Ford Coppola's daughter has any gripes about her childhood that she's trying to get off her chest. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think she doesn't like staying in hotels very much.
Q: Will this movie make me cry?A: Not out loud, unless you're a rich, famous, guy who has to drug himself with prescriptions and alcohol, because he's so bored about being able to afford anything he wants at any moment, and get laid by anyone he wants at any moment, regardless of whether or not he's taken a shower anytime within the last calendar year.
Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?A: It's won a couple of gimme awards, that seem to only exist for the purpose of giving someone an award because you feel like it, even though you can't think of anything to award that person for... The funny thing is, if it had been nominated for directing or cinematography in the Independent Spirit Awards, this year, I might just have voted for it. For reals.
Q: How is the Acting?A: Elle Fanning is getting to that age where she's going to start being compared to her uber-talented sister, Dakota, so let me be the first to annoy them by doing so. And the verdict is.... it's a toss up. They're like comparing apples to apples, where one of the apples is a few years older than the other apple, but aside from that, the apples are completely indistinguishable. Stephen Dorff also does a great job of playing what I imagine is a richer and more famous version of himself.
Q: How is the Directing?A: I have seen all of Sofia Coppola's movies, and generally find them to fall somewhere between middling and downright awful. But with this one, for the first time, she managed to suck me in, hold my attention, and build my ability to patiently wait out the silent meaning of each slow, stagnant shot. Weird. She must've done something right.
Q: How is the story/script?A: There are probably about 11 lines of dialogue in the whole thing, and frankly, that may be this film's genius. I imagine the script was about 20 pages long, since almost nothing describable happens in it either. Yet somehow the quiet alienation of this glamor lifestyle is deeply compelling. My only complaint is the open-ended ending, which makes you want to like this movie less than you actually did.
Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie? A: I once spent a weekend living at the Chateau Marmont. And despite my excitement about the glamorous premiere I was attending, where I would-- and did-- hob-nob with celebrities, the Chateau is the kind of place that makes you want to take drugs to the point of overdose. It's cold, the furniture is stiff and uncomfortable, and there are rumors of ghosts living there, including that of John Belushi, who actually did overdose to the point of death, in that hotel. While, in my opinion, ghosts are the only suitable inhabitants for the place, it should come as no surprise that Tim Burton has also spent many years of his life renting out the penthouse. See any one of Burton's movies if you want to better understand the state of mind that the energy in this haunted castle will drive you to.
Q: Where can I see the trailer? A:
Somewhere Trailer
Proceed with Caution. It's just another character story with not much story-story to it, but there's no denying that this character is interesting-- at least so long as there's a screen standing between us, and keeping him at a safe distance away from my scorn.
