It's interesting enough and gorgeously shot, but it really goes nowhere and left me a bit cold. There's a lot of setup and very little execution, making the whole endeavor pretty pointless. The characters are also incredibly annoying with the exception of Emma Roberts, though all of the leads give great performances. This is easily Roberts's best work. B-

Liked it but was kinda slight/been-there-done-that. I think it was a pretty realistic portrayal of teenagers but I wish there was more meat to the story so that the conclusion doesn't feel so incomplete.

In her directorial debut, 27-year-old writer/director Gia Coppola recalls her niece, Sofia, more than her grandfather, Francis Ford. The film, Palo Alto, based on short stories by co-star James Franco, is an anxious daydream of a film chronicling the coming of age of a few troubled teenagers in the titular Northern California city. Among them is the smart, yet shy April (Emma Roberts), who engages in inappropriate flirtation with her older soccer coach, played by Franco. The film is not defined by a sense of propulsion, but rather its sincerity, its concern for its characters' ethical conundrums, and a general air of authentic melancholy. Everyone delivers a capable performance without overshadowing the other members of the ensemble; after years in the spotlight, this is far and away Roberts' most engaging and relaxed turn. There are a few questionable storytelling and stylistic decisions—a disturbing house-party gang rape is related as an afterthought via almost wistful voice-over—and the film is never as beautiful, moving, or sensual as the masterful The Virgin Suicides (a hard comparison to avoid), but the latest-to-the-game Coppola otherwise acquits herself nicely, confidently drawing the audience into the private lives and longings of the adolescent characters.

B+

You could never tell from their work, but I think the Coppola children were rather bored when they were teenagers.

It'd be nice if they could move on to a different theme and branch out a little.