It may appear that James Franco is the focus of PALO ALTO as his name leads the cast and he serves as the inspiration for the script, but his presence is barely a footnote in this perceptive study of today’s teenager. Based on Franco’s short story collection entitled PALO ALTO STORIES, the film mainly follows three teenagers – Teddy (Jack Kilmer), Fred (Nat Wolff), and April (Emma Roberts) – as they live their days floating through class and flying even “higher” at night. Drunk driving, smoking weed, and casual sex are daily occurrences as these three high-school students aimlessly drift towards an uncertain future.
Unlike last year’s SPRING BREAKERS which showed the absurdity of this generation’s idea of the American dream through a hyper-fantasy filter, PALO ALTO shows the reality of what these kids actually go through when the music stops and the neon lights start to fade out. Somewhere amid the cloud of smoke and beer cans lies the same teenager looking for an escape from reality. Together, the two films act as two sides of the same coin; where happiness for these young, lost souls is always within reach but never attained. Conversations of royal kings and death may seem like passing off-the-cuff musings when in reality they add layers to these characters who would otherwise just exist as American Apparel models put on screen. “She wasn’t really a friend. She was just a girl.” Lines such as this might seem suited for a comedy poking fun at the drama-fueled lives of high-schoolers, but in the hands of director Gia Coppola this confession is given weight and reveals a vulnerability about the character. Seldom do you witness such a raw and emotional view of high-school life.
A conversation between the soccer coach played by Franco and one of his players played by Roberts about the non-reasoning behind events throughout history seems reflective of how PALO ALTO unfolds. We aren’t given specific motivations behind character’s actions as we simply see them experiencing life. Often throughout the film I was reminded of the still photography of Ryan McGinley and how his images capture more of a feeling than an idea. Though one could write an essay about his influence on Instagram and the look of “indie” culture, it is his focus on flawed youths – or as I like to refer to them as “lovable losers” – that seems the biggest influence on the characters found in the film. Gia Coppola wears her influences clearly on her cinematic sleeve. Emma Roberts’ character has a poster of Kirsten Dunst from THE VIRGIN SUICIDES hanging on her wall that is very noticeable in a few scenes. 1970s nostalgia may have been traded in for indie counter-culture but the visual and music cues are unmistakably similar between the two Coppolas. I guess the family tree Gia stems from is still fruitful.
Older moviegoers who are uninterested in apathetic and mopey teens may not want to register for this class. And yet, much like the reaction to last year’s SPRING BREAKERS, younger audiences also may not enjoy having the harsh light spotlighting their hidden reality. PALO ALTO may not hold the answer for their high school woes, but it methodically paints a portrait of a generation that’s simultaneously looking for the truth and yet trying to drink enough to forget it.
4 out of 5
