Rating- * * (2/5)
There have always been certain families that find success in film and become Hollywood dynasties; the Barrymores and the Douglasses have been around since the Golden Age of Hollywood. But since the ‘70s, a new dynasty has emerged in the world of filmmaking: the Coppolas. The Coppolas seem to be relative outsiders in the Hollywood scene; they are rejected by their peers but loved by critics and the public. Beginning with the patriarch, Francis Ford Coppola, one of the greatest directors of the ‘70s, the family continued on into the ‘90s with two of the younger generation of Coppolas: director Sofia and actor Nicholas Cage. Now in the 21st Century, the family tradition continues with Francis’ youngest son, Roman Coppola. Roman has been directing commercials and music videos for several years now but CQ is his first feature-length project. It is an extremely autobiographical story about a young filmmaker (Jeremy Davies) working as an editor on a typically super-commercial project in Paris in the late ‘60s. When the film’s star director (Jason Schwartzman) quits the film, Davies gets a crack at directing the big-budget sci-fi movie Dragonfly. The movie itself is less than interesting for Davies but his interest in the star (Angela Lindvall) is substantially greater. He develops a bit of a crush on her and has several bizarre dreams involving her as her Dragonfly character. His obsession with the film costs him his girlfriend (Elodie Bouchez) and some of his sanity as he gets lost in the making of the problematic final scene of the film. This film is very slow-moving and sequentially confusing; but then so was another film this has been compared to, Federico Fellini’s masterpiece 8˝. Unlike Fellini’s film, however, CQ doesn’t seem to offer anything in the way of insight into the filmmaking process or even about life. It is very well-done stylistically and visually, but the dialogue is lacking in panache or poetry. This is the first film of a man who is clearly a very talented filmmaker, but who certainly needs a little more polishing before he lives up to his name. If you are interested in seeing the progress of the latest member of the Coppola dynasty or would like to see a meticulously detailed recreation of 1960s Paris, then CQ might be a worthwhile rent. Otherwise, I can’t recommend this one to the average viewer. Sorry, Roman…maybe next time.