Review of “Lost in Translation”

Review of “Lost in Translation(transˈlāSH(ə)n, tranzˈlāSH(ə)n)”

Bill(bil) Murray’s(ˈmərē) acting in Sofia(sōˈfēə,ˈsōfēə) Coppola’s(ˈkäpələ) “Lost in Translation” is surely one of the most exquisitely(ekˈskwizətlē, ˈekˌskwizətlē) controlled(kənˈtrōl) performances in recent movies. Without it, the film could be unwatchable(ˌənˈwäCHəbəl). With it, I can’t take my eyes away. Not for a second, not for a frame(frām), does his focus relax(rəˈlaks), and yet it seems effortless. It’s sometimes said of an actor that we can’t see him acting. I can’t even see him not acting. He seems to be existing(igˈzistiNG), merely existing, in the situation created for him by Sofia Coppola.

Is he “playing himself”? I’ve known Murray since his days at Second City. He married the sister of a girl I was dating. We were never friends, I have no personal insights, but I can fairly(ˈfe(ə)rlē) say I saw how he behaved in small informal(inˈfôrməl) groups of friends, and it wasn’t like Bob Harris(ˈharəs), his character in the movie. Yes, he likes to remain low key. Yes, dryness and understatement come naturally to him. Sharing a stage(stāj) at Second City with John(jän) Belushi(belo͝oshē), he was a glider(ˈglīdər) in contrast(ˈkänˌtrast) to the kamikaze(ˌkäməˈkäzē) pilot(ˈpīlət). He isn’t a one-note actor. He does anger(ˈaNGgər), fear, love, whatever, and broad(brôd) comedy(ˈkämədē). But what he does in “Lost in Translation” shows as much of a reach as if he were playing Henry(ˈhenrē) Higgins. He allows the film to be as great as Coppola dreamed of it, in the way she intended, and few directors(diˈrektər, dīˈrektər) are so fortunate(ˈfôrCHənət).

She has one objective: She wants to show two people lonely in vast(vast) foreign(ˈfär-,ˈfôrən) Tokyo and coming to the mutual(ˈmyo͞oCHo͞oəl) realization(ˌrē(ə)ləˈzāSHən) that their lives are stuck. Perhaps what they’re looking for is the same thing I’ve heard we seek in marriage: A witness(ˈwitnəs). Coppola wants to get that note right. There isn’t a viewer who doesn’t expect Bob Harris and Charlotte(ˈSHärlət) (Scarlett Johansson) to end up in love, or having sex, or whatever. We’ve met Charlotte’s husband John (Giovanni Ribisi). We expect him to return unexpectedly from his photo shoot and surprise them together. These expectations have been sculpted(skəlpt), one chip(CHip) of Hollywood’s(ˈhälēˌwo͝od) chisel(ˈCHizəl) after another, in tens of thousands of films. The last thing we expect is… what would probably actually happen. They share loneliness(ˈlōnlēnəs).

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-lost-in-translation-2003