Lost in Transition

Rating: 9/10 (21 August 2019)

Transitions in life are stressful, and it seems to me that what this film is really about is being 'Lost in Transition.' A middle-aged actor (Bill Murray at 53) is in Japan to do a whiskey commercial against his better judgment to do something more meaningful with his time, when he meets a young woman (Scarlett Johansson at 18) who is recently married to a photographer and involved with the glitzy world of show business. Johansson's character doesn't really know what she wants to do in life with her philosophy degree, and isn't really sure she fits in with the people her husband works with. Murray's is disillusioned with the choices he's made in life, and mostly just wants to score a big payday with the commercial and then get home, at least until he meets her.
It's all a little strange with these two people so far apart in age, meeting in a cheesy hotel bar and somehow connecting, as they sense a genuine person on the other end of their initial awkwardness. Being in Japan, jet-lagged, and with all of the quirky cultural things surrounding them adds to the surreal bubble that the two find themselves in, and they know they're like ships passing in the night, both in where they're heading in life, and their ages. I love how director Sofia Coppola used restraint in what they do with their time, in particular, holding back on physical intimacy, and even holding back on letting us hear what he whispers into her ear in a big moment. Not only does it feel incredibly real, but it also heightens the magic they somehow have, and makes it all the more beautiful and tragic.
Coppola also gives the viewer some fantastic shots in streets and clubs of Japan, evoking a sense of what it's like to be there as a foreigner. I truly wish she and Murray had not used the 'R' and 'L' crap as much as they did, as it's such an insulting stereotype and an unoriginal cliché besides, so unfortunately there are some bits that are problematic. Aside from that I loved the film because of the great performances from both lead actors, Coppola's direction, and that devastating ending.