Beautifully unique

Rating: 7/10 (27 July 2010)

It's the story of a man. A famous actor, middle-aged, not particularly happy in his marriage. And it's the story of a woman. Much younger, a recent college graduate, also not particularly happy in her marriage. These two Americans meet by chance in a Tokyo hotel. In most movies this is where a cheap, meaningless fling would ensue. But Sofia Coppola's script is much too smart for that. And so Lost in Translation is something entirely different. Something unexpected, a beautiful surprise. It's the story of two lonely people, two lost souls. And in finding one another perhaps they can find themselves.
In playing this couple brought together by fate Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are superb. Murray plays Bob Harris, a hugely successful actor who is in Japan to make commercials for whiskey. He hates himself for it, he'd rather be home doing theater. But the money's good. And home's not all it's cracked up to be anyway. His marriage has grown stale. Bob's a guy in the throes of a midlife crisis. And Murray captures the character perfectly. The sense of loneliness, the sense of disappointment in life and in himself, it's all etched on Murray's face. So famous for loud and outrageous comedy here Murray does so much with simple subtlety. Meanwhile Johansson plays Charlotte, a young woman tagging along with her celebrity photographer husband on his trip to Japan. Even when her husband is around Charlotte feels lost and alone. When he's off working and she's left to fend for herself all the pain and doubt she is feeling threatens to consume her. She needs something to cling to and that something turns out to be Bob Harris. And as this couple embarks on an undeniably interesting and rather unusual relationship the young Johansson proves to be up to the task of matching the veteran actor Murray. The two stars turn in hugely memorable performances which really elevate the film.
But as wonderful as Murray and Johansson are perhaps the true star of the film is Sofia Coppola. She wrote a wonderful script. And then she directed it so beautifully. She has a truly terrific visual sense, making the city of Tokyo almost a character unto itself with the way she captures it on camera. As Bob and Charlotte explore the city everything is framed so beautifully. And when the movie briefly veers away from all the excitement of the big city for a few moments in a much quieter, peaceful locale Coppola succeeds in making that perhaps the film's most beautiful scene of all. She has made a movie which definitely succeeds in drawing you in and making you care about its characters. It's not the most exciting thing you've ever seen. It's much more subtle than that, a movie which trusts itself enough to unfold at its own leisurely pace. And in this case that works. It's a great story of two people who initially are lost but end up finding something. What they find may not be exactly what they were looking for but this is a movie too smart for the simple answer, the easy way out. And that more than anything else is what makes this movie a success.