Great acting, but could have been better

Rating: 5/10 (29 February 2004)

What happens when two depressed people trapped in unhappy marriages find themselves in Tokyo? You get "Lost in Translation," a story of two lonely people lost deep inside themselves.
Bill Murray is perfectly cast as Bob Harris, a has-been actor who is in Tokyo to film whiskey ads and do some annoying TV interviews. Rookie actress Scarlett Johansson is also great as Charlotte, a lonely young wife of a photographer. They meet in a hotel bar, and its friendship at first sight. Together they paint the town, learn about each other, and find in each other a reason to live.
While the performances are Oscar worthy, Sofia Coppola's direction is not. She could have done much more in developing their friendship, even have the pair have second meaning-of-life talk. (The one they had--simply Murray and Johansson in bed, fully clothed, wondering if life ever gets any easier--was the best scene in the movie.) Other than the karaoke scene, during which Murray does a funny rendition of Elvis Costello's "Peace, Love, and Understanding," the music was just out there. The movie is rated R because of one completely unnecessary scene in a Japanese nudie bar, while a song called (I'm not kidding) "F--- the Pain Away" plays. Take out that scene, you have a cleaner and probably better PG13 or even PG film. She'll get better.
Overall, a good movie that could have been better. 5/10.