Trailer: Palo Alto
There are films that, purely based on a pitch, pique my interest. An adaptation of a James Franco novel about suburban trouble-making teens handled by a first time director is not one. The trailer for Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto delivers as much of a pleasant surprise as a trailer can, though. The often (over)told tale of impressionable girl meets delinquent boy seems to at least be visually interesting in this turn. Emma Roberts stars as said girl opposite Jack Kilmer, son of co-star Val. Franco plays a “touchy, feely” soccer coach in the screen version of his Palo Alto Stories which rang a tad obnoxious, but he has proven a capable, if sometimes annoying, actor over the years, so I will give him a probationary pass here.
It will be interesting to see how yet another director from the Coppola family handles her first project when this makes its debut in Telluride and TIFF. Chances are she’s no Francis Ford or even a Sofia, but here’s hoping she is nothing like Nicolas.