Moving!

Rating: 9/10 (23 February 2015)

Unlike most films dominating today's silver screen that are centered on plot, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation is highly character-driven. Coppola's characters that effervesce with raw emotion and depth shape the quality of the film; and, it is the confounding performances given by the actors that make Lost in Translation a superb movie.
The director's expert casting of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson to play the lead characters play an integral part in the movie's success. Bill Murray portrays a middle-aged, well- known actor by the name of Bob Harris who approaches a mid-life crisis. The role was originally written for Murray, admits Coppola in an interview: "When I was writing it I was picturing him and he really inspired it, and I wasn't going to make the movie without him" ("Sofia Coppola Discusses 'Lost in Translation' on Its 10th Anniversary"). Although the role of a movie star is not relatable for most, Murray depicts Bob as an identifiable character. He displays an exasperation when Bob talks to his wife that is characteristic of many middle-aged men. In one particularly haunting scene, Murray wades in a pool hopelessly while his wife blabbers about carpet samples, and he mutters a tired "I love you" before she hangs up. You can feel Bob's self-loathing as he endures silly commercial shoots for an unpopular whiskey, when his acting becomes sort of a self-mockery. Murray's mere facial expressions demonstrating the loneliness that Bob feels is evident through his glazed-over eyes and shortness of tone. One critic remarks of Murray's performance in his New York Times review: "Here he supplies the kind of performance that seems so fully realized and effortless that it can easily be mistaken for not acting at allhis capacity for absorbing everything around him has taken a toll, and the visibility of that burden is what ''Translation'' is all about" (Mitchell "Lost In Translation (2003) FILM REVIEW; An American in Japan, Making a Connection"). Murray is also able to add a humorous side to Bob, which is apparent in his
At the time of her casting, Scarlett Johansson was a relatively unknown actress. Though her character is a twenty-five year old married college graduate, Johansson was merely eighteen years old during the movie's filming. However, Johansson masks her age through acting prowess and is able to embody the emotional and physical maturity of her character. Johansson's low, husky voice that carries a somber tone aids in her depiction of the wilting Charlotte; Johansson invokes goosebumps when Charlotte becomes lachrymose and mutters, "I didn't feel anythingI don't know who I married" (Coppola "Lost in Translation"). Her adeptness at expression exhibits the yearning that Charlotte feels for Bob that is seen through her wistful gazes directed towards him.
The disparate age gap between the two characters could be a point of contention (and creepiness) for the movie had any other actors been chosen. Bob and Charlotte's romantic relationship is not overtly sexual ("They share something as personal as their feelings rather than something as generic as their genitals," quips Robert Ebert), but it exceeds the platonic. While Bob is old enough to be Charlotte's father, their age difference does not seem strange because of the light-heartedness and youthful humor that Murray brings to the role. "It's a lot to do with the casting, admits Coppola. "That could have been creepy, but it's just something about how Bill is that it never came off lecherous. Maybe because he's such a kid" ("Sofia Coppola Discusses 'Lost in Translation' on Its 10th Anniversary").
Murray's and Johansson's on-screen chemistry is remarkable as well. They are able to share an unspoken earnestness and create a sense that no one else is around in their jovial pursuits in Tokyo. A lot of the scenes in the movie were improvised, including the kiss that Bob and Charlotte share at the end. Johansson's ability to indulge in Bob's caress when it was a complete surprise, along with Murray's organic instinct to give the kiss, demonstrates their collective ability to develop an authentic intimacy. Their chemistry is doubly impressive because the two actors did not even meet until the day filming began.
Coppola wrote a compelling script accompanied by expert directorial work, but her casting for Lost in Translation was the selling point for the movie. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson individually and collectively perform with an array of depth and humor that allow the audience to connect so well with the movie. Their feats are well-summarized by famed movie critic Roger Ebert, who astutely claims that "Coppola and her actors negotiated the hazards of romance and comedy, taking what little they needed and depending for the rest on the truth of the characters." It is precisely this "truth" that not only creates a moving story, but also a universally relatable one.