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Mod fodder >>
Roman Coppola’s CQ is retro
Got a jones for groovy, lightweight, ’60s-à-gogo Euro-chic? No need to hold out for Goldmember. CQ is a fab little number from Coppola kid number two Roman, nipping at the heels of his big sis Sofia’s remarkable Virgin Suicides. Moreover, its spin on the era is far more nuanced and affectionate than Myers’ broad slapstick nostalgia. So dig this: Jeremy Davies (a classic American screen dork in the Ron Howard mold) tackles his first adult role as Paul, a shiny-eyed American cinéaste in ’69 Paris. By day, he edits a corny, spy-fi sexcapade called Codename: Dragonfly. By night, he toils on his self-indulgent solo art film, obsessively documenting the minutiae of his life while the bigger picture-the growing distance between him and his foxy French lady friend Marlene-eludes him. After Dragonfly’s director (the hoary Gérard Depardieu in a hilarious turn) gets the boot, and the replacement hack (another classic dork, Jason Schwartzman) trashes his car, Paul finds himself behind the camera. His fascination with the lead actress Valentine (Angela Lindvall) triggers a series of fairly benign reality lapses in him as he sweats out a suitable conclusion to the flick. CQ shifts between the black-and-white Super8 of Paul’s own cinéma verité nonsense, the lurid gloss of the B-movie and the modernized footage of the “real world,” with an attention to detail that breathes vibrant life into the proceedings. A stylish and appropriate score by French band Mellow helps, as do bit parts by ’60s leftovers Dean Stockwell, Giancarlo Giannini and John Philip Law. Note that erstwhile golden boy Law starred in films like Barbarella and Danger: Diabolik, clearly Coppola’s blueprint for Dragonfly. All told, CQ is couture fluff, offering little insight into the external turbulence of the times and the internal turbulence of the young filmmaker torn between art and commerce. Whatever. It’s a tender send-up of a now-quaint pop-culture period that looks, sounds and, most importantly, feels great. : CQ opens Friday, June 21 |
by
RUPERT BOTTENBERG