At the ripe, old age of 31, Sofia Coppola is a successful artist by any standard. If all anyone knows about her career is derived from her not-ready-for-prime-time performance as Mary, Michael Corleone's destined-for-tragedy daughter in The Godfather III, however, that memory alone likely is enough to discourage attendance at any subsequent endeavor.
It probably helps explain why so many avoided her assured directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides (2000). It also might have something to do with the odd fact that last year's second-most-lauded picture, the bittersweet romantic comedy Lost in Translation, has yet to gross more than $35 million domestic as of the end of January.
As a last-minute replacement for an "exhausted" Winona Ryder, the director's novice daughter had a perfectly good excuse for not meeting the impossibly high expectations of Godfather fanatics. On the other hand, those who avoided seeing her delightfully fresh and clever Lost in Translation for any reason not related to poor health, anyway, can only plead temporary insanity.
Set primarily in a sterile high-rise hotel in the neon heart of Tokyo, Lost in Translation tells two parallel, fish-out-of-water stories. The first involves a Hollywood actor, played with detached reserve by Bill Murray, in Japan to shoot a commercial for a domestic liquor interest. The other concerns a pretty, young American woman (overnight sensation Scarlett Johansson), who is killing time in the same hotel while her photographer-husband completes an assignment. Insomnia-induced ennui brings them together —he's an internationally known star, she graduated from an Ivy League school with a degree in philosophy—but the ensuing relationship is anything but mundane or clichéd.
Together, they explore the kinetic playground that is downtown Tokyo, and lift each other's spirits in the face of less-than-perfect love lives. Their unlikely friendship is built on a foundation of meaningful gestures, profound loneliness, and shared awe over the complete foreignness of Japan. They're less separated by a generation gap than an unstated desire to not succumb to a brief encounter which they might momentarily enjoy but later regret for the rest of their lives.
Some have suggested that the best moments in Lost in Translation were inspired by Coppola's own ill-fated visit to Japan with ex-husband Spike Jonze. Indeed, all of the major characters appear to be drawn from memory, especially a ditsy actress who resembles Cameron Diaz. But, memories can only carry a screenplay so far, and Lost in Translation never runs out of inspiration.
It's likely that the DVD incarnation was rushed out to trump the Motion Picture Association of America's ban on sending screeners to critics and Oscar voters. Any Academy member, or civilian moviegoer, for that matter, who hasn't already seen the multiple-nominee no longer has an excuse. The bonus features, including some noteworthy deleted scenes, are fine, but the commentary track probably will come later.
Double dose of Cuba
Cuba Gooding Jr. is an actor whose victory in the Best Supporting category, mostly for immortalizing the phrase, "Show me the money," in Jerry Maguire, is often cited as evidence that an Oscar doth not a career make. But, Gooding probably wasn't destined to compete with Denzel Washington or Sam Jackson for the jackpot roles. Instead, he's ridden the same roller coaster as his fellow character actors, most of whom will never be assigned a role as full of potential as Rod Tidwell. Gooding's latest work is on display opposite Steve Harvey and freshman actor Beyonce Knowles in the spirited musical-comedy The Fighting Temptations and Ed Harris, in the inspirational gridiron drama, Radio. Neither film set the world on fire, but both represent the kind of solid, unassuming entertainment that does better on DVD than in the theater.
Secondhand Joel
Haley Joel Osment likewise was nominated for Best Supporting honors for playing the kid who could see dead people in The Sixth Sense, but absent a growth spurt, he may have trouble extending his career into adulthood. In Secondhand Lions, though, Osment proved he still has the chops, even opposite such giants as Robert Duvall and Michael Caine. Set along the back roads of Texas, he plays an introverted 12-year-old who is quite literally dumped on a pair of irascible great-uncles. Their interaction is quite wonderful.
Lane's place in the sun
Nominated in 2003 for a Best Actress Oscar (Unfaithful), Diane Lane returned to action in Under the Tuscan Sun. In it, the once woefully under-appreciated Lane portrays a 35-year-old San Francisco writer and recent divorcee who moves to the Tuscany, Italy, to shake near-terminal writer's block. Anyone who can't accurately predict the film's outcome from those few words probably hasn't been to a movie in the last 30 years. But, consider the source: a male reviewer who has seen dozens such women-on-the-brink pictures when two or three would suffice. Fans of the book, travel agents and the tens of thousands of women who dream nightly of ditching their sloth husbands for Italian stallions will find infinitely more to like.