Palo Alto

"Gia Coppola proves to have quite the eye, if not quite the natural storytelling instinct of her cinematic kin, serving up a remarkably assured feature debut with “Palo Alto (...) drawn from James Franco’s short story collection, this wasted-youth pic goes to impressive lengths to develop the characters and shape their experience into something meaningful." 

"The best feature film directed by someone named Coppola in a number of years" 

"Coppola's screenplay neatly restructures Franco's source material into a deceptively tight narrative, and mostly proves to be raw, authentic and often very funny." 

"Roberts is the standout. Away from her, the film drifts and drags, and some of the image-making is rote (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)" 

"The kids in Gia Coppola’s 'Palo Alto' move as through a dream. It’s a drifty, appealing story" 

"A very strong first feature, prioritizing mood over message (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)" 

"The film’s real discovery may in fact be the debut of [Jack] Kilmer (...) Among the best moments are the few scenes young Kilmer has with Roberts" 

"Coppola makes us care, capturing the fever and fleetingness of first love in a way that marks a born filmmaker (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"