Susan Granger’s review of “Palo Alto” (Tribeca Film)
Writer/director Gia Coppola obviously has a dynastic advantage. She is the 27 year-old niece of Sofia Coppola (“The Virgin Suicides,” “The Bling Ring”) and granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather”). Her father, Gian-Carlo Coppola, was killed in a tragic boating accident when her mother was two months pregnant with Gia. Inspired by James Franco’s autobiographical short story collection, which is named for his hometown, Gia’s first feature revolves around affluent, yet aimless suburban teenagers in Northern California.
Shy, sensitive, studious April (Emma Roberts) is a virginal soccer player who has a crush on her coach, Mr. B. (unshaven James Franco), an overly-friendly single-dad for whose kid she often baby-sits. Teddy (Jack Kilmer) yearns for April and is performing community service at the local library to atone for a DUI. And then there’s Teddy’s reckless buddy Fred (Nat Wolff), who drinks fermented water out of flower vases and seduces promiscuous Emily (Zoe Levin), who obviously has low self-esteem. Predictably, April and Teddy eventually get together, while Fred faces the consequences of his impetuous, antisocial behavior.
Premiering at the 2013 Venice Film Festival, followed by Telluride and Toronto Film Fests, it’s an assured debut by a third-generational filmmaker who concentrates far more on the detailed visual quality of her scenes (superbly photographed by young female cinematographer Autumn Cheyenne Durald) than on her unfocused story-telling structure, which consists of vignettes loosely strung together. Since nepotism has always run rampant in the motion picture industry, familial ties are reflected in Gia’s casting choices: Emma Roberts is the niece of Julia, Jack Kilmer’s father Val does a cameo as April’s permissive, pot-smoking father, while the parents of Nat Wolff are actress Polly Draper and jazz pianist Michael Wolff. Not surprisingly, Wolff, who plays Gus’s blind friend in “The Fault In Our Stars,” gives the most convincing performance.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Palo Alto” is an angst-riddled 6, dealing with drinking, drugs and suicide. So what else is new?
