CQ is an exercise in self-indulgent filmmaking that nevertheless has its charms. Taking the film-within-a-film concept an extra step, it tells the story of Paul, a young filmmaker in 1969 Paris who is working on both a sci-fi schlockfest (director Roman Coppola's homage to Mario Bava's Danger Diabolik) and a personal art film. As he tries to "make something honest" with his art film, he simultaneously tries to figure out an ending for the SF movie.
CQ is rather episodic, moving freely between events in Paul's reality and scenes within his two in-progress films. I can't help but think of a line from the movie, wherein Paul is told to "connect things, so that the audience feels something". Beyond a simplistic theme of doubles (a comment by Paul's father leads to an ending for the SF film), there is nothing deeply connecting the scenes presented to the audience. The director's commentary track failed to provide any insight here, mentioning things like "this is my Fellini homage scene" and "my friend's grandmother told him this story about Dragonflies, and I thought it was neat so I put it in". Coppola is treating us to his personal relationship with film, without really giving us anything to think about. (Another example from the commentary comes from a scene where Paul opens a letter to reveal a French driver's license, which is not clearly visible, at least on a 31" TV screen. Although the license is implied by an otherwise unconnected sideplot from much earlier in the movie, I didn't realize what it was. Coppola's comment on this is along the lines of "People told me that nobody would know it's a driver's license, but I thought it was pretty obvious, so I left it". This pretty much sums up his attitude towards the audience.)
All that said, there is entertainment to be had watching CQ. Billy Zane nearly steals the show with his small role, and Jason Schwartzman is good for a few laughs as well. The acting is generally very good, including model Angela Lindvahl as Valentine, the star of the sci-fi movie. Jeremy Davies manages to convey Paul's narcissism without making him unlikeable (at least to viewers who understand the relationship of the artistically driven to their work), which is a fine tightrope to walk.
In the end, Roman Coppola has given us an entertaining film, but one which is less thoughtful from the audience's viewpoint than he likely intended. He's certainly a competent filmmaker, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a much better film in the future.
3 stars out of 5.
CQ is rather episodic, moving freely between events in Paul's reality and scenes within his two in-progress films. I can't help but think of a line from the movie, wherein Paul is told to "connect things, so that the audience feels something". Beyond a simplistic theme of doubles (a comment by Paul's father leads to an ending for the SF film), there is nothing deeply connecting the scenes presented to the audience. The director's commentary track failed to provide any insight here, mentioning things like "this is my Fellini homage scene" and "my friend's grandmother told him this story about Dragonflies, and I thought it was neat so I put it in". Coppola is treating us to his personal relationship with film, without really giving us anything to think about. (Another example from the commentary comes from a scene where Paul opens a letter to reveal a French driver's license, which is not clearly visible, at least on a 31" TV screen. Although the license is implied by an otherwise unconnected sideplot from much earlier in the movie, I didn't realize what it was. Coppola's comment on this is along the lines of "People told me that nobody would know it's a driver's license, but I thought it was pretty obvious, so I left it". This pretty much sums up his attitude towards the audience.)
All that said, there is entertainment to be had watching CQ. Billy Zane nearly steals the show with his small role, and Jason Schwartzman is good for a few laughs as well. The acting is generally very good, including model Angela Lindvahl as Valentine, the star of the sci-fi movie. Jeremy Davies manages to convey Paul's narcissism without making him unlikeable (at least to viewers who understand the relationship of the artistically driven to their work), which is a fine tightrope to walk.
In the end, Roman Coppola has given us an entertaining film, but one which is less thoughtful from the audience's viewpoint than he likely intended. He's certainly a competent filmmaker, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make a much better film in the future.
3 stars out of 5.