Starring: Emma Roberts, James Franco, Jack Kilmer, Nat Wolff, Zoe Levin.
Palo Alto is the Gia Coppola movie adaptation to James Franco's book of short stories. The story revolves around the lives of a group of teenagers but follows them individually also. April (Emma Roberts), is a sweet and naive little girl who ends up making the mistake of getting with her soccer coach, Mr. B (James Franco). Teddy (Jack Kilmer) is a sweet and naive boy who gets caught drink driving one night, after a party with best friend Fred (Nat Wolff), and is made to do community service. Whilst April and Teddy have a mutual affection the story is not based on these two together, completely.
Initially, I didn't think too much of Palo Alto. I thought it was definitely a beautifully shot and edited piece of art however I thought the story and themes were overdone and I felt like I had seen everything, from the scenes to the story, before. This is definitely still true.
Previous to watching this, I knew Palo Alto was based on a book, I also knew James Franco wrote a book named that but somehow I never put those pieces together. I feel like I heard the film was a new adaptation to an old story, told many times before, so I just kind of stuck to that idea.
Whilst watching this film, I felt like I was watching two different films, as the connections between the main characters were so sparse and had completely different events going on. This was another reason I didn't really like the film. However, after learning that it was based on James Franco's book of short stories, everything started to make sense and I actually think this adaptation is greatly composed. I think compiling the stories together to make one film is a very clever idea and it was beautifully executed.
For Gia Coppola's directorial debut, she has done an amazing job. I stand by the fact that I think the shots and colours are overplayed and I've definitely seen this all done before but this doesn't deffer from the fact that she's done a really good job. The locations and settings especially, every scene is exactly how you would visualise it in your dream world and how you wish your teenage years looked.
The attention to detail is something to applaud. From the clothing to the props, everything is so aesthetically pleasing and complimentary of each other. The details, for the vibe it is trying to create. is spot on. I feel this film is the epitome of modern day teenage hipsters and it captures that style so well.
As well as these factors, the colouration created, the hues of blue, are equally as important. I feel that the colours used and the use of mist, creates a dream like feel that matches the stories essence. You can also get a real feel of Sofia Coppola in this film, there are definitely influences of her in here and it works in the films favour.
The acting in this film was all very natural and believable on a surreal level. Nat Wolff (better known from The Naked Brothers Band) was exceptional in this film. At first I had no idea it was him, then as the film progressed his skills really came through. Other than that for the acting, nothing else really stood out. I didn't feel like the characters showed too much personality, yet enough for you to understand them.
Just like the film itself, at first I didn't like the ending, it was so sudden and had no real context. After letting the film sink in a little and then understanding where the film is coming from, I really liked the ending. I like that, for me personally, it allowed you to create your own ending to the characters. They are only teenagers so you kind of get to decide the path they take. I also think it ended on a really mediocre note, but not in a bad way, which kind of summarises the whole film.
Palo Alto is definitely a good film, overdone maybe but I think that it's made for the teenage generation of today. Even if that is not the case, I feel like it will revolutionise their ideas of film and introduce a lot of teenagers to that 'indie' path of life. I actually feel very highly about Palo Alto now and would love to read the book to compare and see what parts Coppola chose to use in the adaptation.
