There's a problem with romantic comedies these days. I mean, don't they all star Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal, and a warm, fuzzy, sappy plot? Lost in Translation, a new film by Sophia Coppola, is the answer. With all the trappings of a Hollywood blockbuster, from an A-list cast to big-budget production, the film maintains the quality, creativity, and intellect usually reserved for independent films.
Director Coppola makes the most of all the comedic fodder that comes from the interplay of two distinct cultures. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, a washed up TV star in his mid 50's, who is in Tokyo to make commercials for Santori whiskey and to get away from his stressful marriage. He runs into Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), who has just gotten her philosophy degree from Yale and is accompanying her husband, a workaholic photographer played by Giovanni Ribisi, while he shoots a local band. Both are soul-searchers in a strange land, and the comedy begins even before Bob and Charlotte meet. Both struggle with the alien customs and language barriers, and Coppola does well with the usual gags that come with culture-clash comedies.
Charlotte's agenda in Japan is slightly different from Bob's, but her motivations serve mostly to point out the similar functions of the two roles. Rather than trying to escape from her day-to-day life, Charlotte needs time to reflect on the very purpose of her life. She questions not only herself, but also her hectic marriage. The inevitable finally occurs, and the soul-searchers find one another (not exactly what they were looking for) as the two characters, sleepless and alone, encounter each other in the hotel bar.
The remainder of the movie follows the escapades of a tumultuous and silly weekend, from sushi bars to drug parties, with the hotel bar acting as a regrouping point and a catalyst of action throughout.
The interpersonal tension is never in short supply. Coppola traces the thin line between friendship and courtship with remarkable precision, feeding off of the nervous energy created by the main characters' three decade age gap. Charlotte provides a clear empathetic link to young women everywhere (especially recent college students) searching for their identities in the world and in their relationships.
Bob's character constantly releases the dramatic tension through cultural humor. Above all, Bill Murray's gifts as a comedian, at their best in years, will appeal to everyone from frat boys to soccer moms.
Coppola creates a new model for the romantic comedy with only language barriers, societal issues, and cultural norms as her versions of bathroom-humor laxatives and desecrated apple pies. She incorporates stunning visual imagery throughout the film, instinctually capturing the paradox of modern Japan, from the tranquility of its history to the warp speed of a high tech megalopolis.
The charm in Lost in Translation's direction however, is the way Coppola seems to ride a fine line between respecting and mocking a very distinguished culture. But she is able to balance this tension with carefully selected scene order. Each funny cultural incident is tipped even on the tact scale by the following scene cut.
If we decide then, as most people have, that Coppola's directing is a better bet than her acting (see Godfather III), then Lost In Translation is a keeper. In fact, it's a keeper if all you need is a good laugh or a great date movie. Check it out.
