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." 

"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)" 

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