As a huge fan of Coppolla’s Lost in Translation, I had high hopes for this movie. And I liked it. As many have commented, it was highly visual and stylized and that didn’t bother me a bit. What was strange, was that the whole time I was watching this film I was wondering if Coppolla was making a movie about high school.
The similarities are there. The need to please parents (albeit in the form of a strategic alliance), the desire to fit in, the experience of being forced to do things, and the subsequent rebellion. The centerpiece of the film, for me, centered around this birthday party scene where M. Antoinette (played by Kirsten Dunst) stays up all night to watch the sun rise after a night of celebration. Flash back to those nights breaking curfew…
No, this film isn’t as great at Lost in Translation, but it has a different character. Perhaps this is a nostalgic meditation (that I relate to adolescence); Coppolla's fantastically costumed reverie, commenting on frivolity, youth, excess, and tragic self-absorption. A time period common in early adulthood, but one which, we (hopefully) overcome as we grow older and find balance and contentment.
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