GLENN KENNY'S REVIEW (posted 9/11/03)

An intimate film that is not quite as slight as it may seem at first, Sofia Coppola's second directorial effort strands two lost souls in a luxurious Tokyo hotel and lets them find each other. Movie star Bob Harris (a trimmer-than-usual Bill Murray) is in town to shoot some Suntory ads; meanwhile, young Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) can't figure out why her hipster-photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi) is being so perfunctory toward her. When Charlotte's hubby goes on a side trip to Osaka on assignment, she takes up with also-married Harris (whose bearings have worn down to the point that he wanders around the hotel in his bathrobe) on a series of adventures.

Coppola's touch is quiet without being unduly polite — the first shot of the film is an alluring (and long-held) view of Johansson's derriere. This isn't just an acknowledgment of her character's erotic allure, it's an appreciation of it (an appreciation Ribisi's character seems to lack to the extent that you want to grab him by the neck and shake him vigorously). The movie's set up so that Murray can do a lot of the goofy Murrayesque things he's loved for (there's a karaoke bar scene that's no less tender for being painfully funny) and still create a vividly believable character. This is one of the year's most subtly moving films, and a strong affirmation of Coppola's substantial talent.

— Glenn Kenny