Rating:
Director: Roman Coppola
Writer: Roman Coppola
Producer: Gary Marcus
Director of Photography: Robert D. Yeoman
Cast: Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Elodie Bouchez, Gerard Depardieu
| CQ Rating: Director: Roman Coppola Writer: Roman Coppola Producer: Gary Marcus Director of Photography: Robert D. Yeoman Cast: Jeremy Davies, Angela Lindvall, Elodie Bouchez, Gerard Depardieu |
|
Review by: Ryan
Kugler
5/14/02
It's hard to pull off a successful film about the making of one (Ed Wood being the rare exception), and while Roman Coppola makes a nice attempt with his directorial debut CQ, it doesn't really work. The film is competently made, some of the acting is good and it has a unique look and feel, but because the story and lead character are so uninvolving, I was bored.
The story is set in the 60's and stars Jeremy Davies as Paul, an editor-for-hire who spends his days toiling on other people's projects. He does a fine job, but the work isn't artistically satisfying, as his real passion lies in the black and white documentary that he's shooting about his life.
Things aren't going too well with his personal life as he's currently having problems with Marlene (Elodie Bouchez), his live-in girlfriend. She puts up with him and his dream project, but wants something more out of their relationship.
There are also problems with "Dragonfly," the low-budget science fiction film that he's in the process of editing. The tough-as-nails producer (Giancarlo Giannini) is unhappy with the current cut of the film and fires the director (Gerard Depardieu) on the spot. He hires an up-and-coming hot shot (Jason Schwartzman) to take his place and to work with Paul in the re-cutting and re-structuring of the picture. He would like for it to be far more commercial and crowd pleasing and much less artistic.
Things don't work out with this new director and Paul is given a great opportunity when he's asked to take the reigns. After much contemplation, he accepts the offer and tries his best to give the producer what he wants, while continuing work on his personal project.
The entire time I was watching, I was never really sure what this wanted to be -- a wacky Hollywood send-up about the making of a film or a serious exploration of an artist trying to find his voice. By trying too hard to be both, the tone and pace are all over the place. This is like two films in one, but the less interesting one (science fiction shoot) takes center stage too often and it all gets real old, real fast. Large chunks are devoted to scenes of the film-within-the-film, and while some of these segments are funny and campy, they take up far too much screen time.
Another weakness stems from a rather dull and unlikable protagonist. I liked Davies when I first saw him in the cult classic Spanking the Monkey, but I'm getting tired of seeing him take on the same role in film after film. If the name doesn't ring a bell and you haven't seen his first film, you may remember some of his other roles: The weird, scared guy in Saving Pvt. Ryan, the strange, quiet guy in Going All The Way and the quirky, mental guy in The Million Dollar Hotel. Here, he's the timid, quirky artist guy. The word typecast was created for Davies and if he doesn't try something different, he's in route to becoming the new Crispin Glover.
On the flip side, I really liked both female leads. Bouchez does good work as Marlene. It's a nice performance and she gives the story's central relationship a well-needed shot of adrenaline. Angela Lindvall is easy on the eyes and is perfect in the role of the actress playing Dragonfly, the film ingenue that Paul falls hard for.
Coppola clan member Schwartzman, who like Davies, has his routine down pat, gives both the films funniest and most annoying performance. Although his scenes are amongst the best and he's a perfect fit as the obnoxious young filmmaker, his shtick is getting old. I was a huge fan of Rushmore and he carried it perfectly, but he can't play Max Fischer forever and if you've seen that film, you know that a little Schwartzman goes a long way.
I realize that it's not fair to compare, but Roman places 3rd in the ranking of the directors in his family. In his father's earlier work and in his sister's stunning debut (Virgin Suicides), I was engaged by the characters and their situations from the start. While Roman brings a wealth of style and energy to the proceedings, he has a hard time engaging us and this makes it difficult to follow and care about what's going on in his story.
CQ
is obviously a very personal film and while I applaud some of
the choices that Coppola made, I think it's just too inaccessible.
A month later, I'm still trying to figure out who the target audience
is. Obviously, it's not me.
Agree? Disagree? Talk about it in our message boards.
|
|
|
|
|