Bittersweet and innocent - romantic without all the romance

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2005)

I think this screenplay is beautifully written, with wonderful characterization. So many movies now are actually only a series of events with people acting them out; this movie is very different. Coppola takes plenty of time to develop her characters. Bill Murray is excellent as a witty, charming, middle-aged actor, and Johansson is equally wonderful as a pensive and sensitive young woman who is trying to find herself. They find in one another a sweet friendship, a deep connection, and answers to questions they did not realize they were asking themselves, it seems. It is easy to relate to the characters; they are going through many of the things that we as the audience also experience in our lives. This is a story about...life.