The James Franco – Gia Coppola team is one I definitely want to see again. Palo Alto is a movie that seemed to flow pretty under the radar, reaching success as audiences stumbled upon it. Though, if you follow James Franco on Instagram, you would absolutely know about the hype for this movie.
As I was watching, I couldn’t help myself from thinking that this is like a present day Catcher in the Rye. Even though my teenage years were spent in a place highly unlike Palo Alto, I felt I could feel and relate to all the experiences the characters were going through. Palo Alto very accurately depicts the fragile mental state of the teenage mind struggling to grow up in this world.
The performances were excellent. It was slightly baffling to me to notice how these relatively young actors tackled a somewhat heavy subject matter and displayed it with such truth and accuracy. For example, Emma Roberts strayed from her normal airy performances as a cliché teenager to someone with depth and dealing with the must humiliating truths of what goes on in a seventeen-year-old girls head. While some parts made me laugh, others made me cringe – but in the best way.
Ultimately the credit must go to Gia Coppola for taking Franco’s characters from page to screen in such a realistic way and without losing their intent. I may have had the advantage of knowing the story because of reading Palo Alto, the book. Yet, Coppola transformed these somewhat scattered stories into a linear plot centered on three or four main characters, each dealing with growing up in their own way.
Early on, the movie was hard to understand – being that it was a little scattered and nothing quite explained as to where the movie was going. But as the movie progressed, Coppola hit her stride with her filmmaking style and script.
Moira’s MVP: Emma Roberts/ Gia Coppola
the Reel Deal 