Overall: dull

Rating: 4/10 (23 December 2008)

I had high hopes of this movie, but unfortunately my final impression is that it was dull.
The ending had a kind of strange magnificence to it. We've all seen the last minute expression of sentimentality on the way to the airport before, but it was the only moment that really hooked me into the film. Everything in those moments seemed perfect to me, but where was that same level of energy in the rest of the film? In the beginning it seems Coppola is excellent at creating a sense of the deep boredom of her characters, but as the minutes stretch out it becomes apparent to me that she has gone a step too far and bored her audience as well. While the photography in this film is beautiful and the sound design is a wonderful immersion tool, I think the film never quite comes back from one key scene that just doesn't quite hit the spot. Charlotte and Bob's boredom is supposedly broken by a night of great fun, but the fun never reaches as far as the viewer. It was all very well to take us into their boredom, but at this point the feelings of character and audience part ways, only to be reconnected 60 seconds before the cut to black.
Perhaps, to be fair, I should say that this is well-made and promising. I just think that a few bad choices at the wrong moments pulled down what could have been a lovely piece of work.