Very funny, never Hollywood romantic

Rating: 9/10 (2 September 2006)

If you're surprised by the subtleties of Bill Murray's acting here, then you can blame your surprise on most of his previous directors, who always had it available to them but rarely chose to showcase it. Sofia Coppola's direction dips its toe in a documentary style that compliments well her script, which never verbalises what doesn't need to be. With this approach, Murray and Scarlett Johansson are left to show us a hesitant relationship whose only foundation is a shared feeling of being lost in life's choices; of having no direction and no one else around to understand them. This is a film that captures boredom, that explores companionship, and that recognises the need for a special moment being left as just a moment. Very funny, never Hollywood romantic and almost constantly affecting, once this arrives on DVD it could well be a film to wallow in on the sofa.