Coppola and Murray team up again to create a comedy caper, aided along the way by adoring daughter, Rashida Jones.
Father and Daughter relationships are something quite unique in human existence, the loving bond between a man and his little girl is a hard thing to compete against. On The Rocks explores that unbreakable bond, a Father that has many faults in his life but the one thing that will stay untouched is the loving relationship he has with his Daughter. They take us on on a tour of New York and all its nooks and cranny’s as they team up as one of the most unlikely detective duos, Holmes and Watson need not hold their breath, their jobs are safe.
Sofia Coppola is very efficient at portraying relationships that blossom in front of our eyes, I cannot help but compare it to my favourite film of hers, 2003’s Lost In Translation also starring Bill Murray. The two films show Murray emotionally connected with a younger female character as they take trips around two magical cities. Murray delves deep into his acting hat for this one as well as he shows us a variety of levels to his character, ranging from his usually slapstick approach to a more nuanced and emotional side, we even get treated to a musical number which is as enjoyable as it sounds.
The story is about Laura, played by Rashida Jones, a woman in her thirties who is at a sort of crossroads in her life both creatively and as a Mother. This begins to get more complicated as she suspects that her husband Dean (Marlon Wayons) may be cheating on her with a colleague who he keeps going away on business trips with. Dean seems to be distance and his affection towards her starts to wither, leading a paranoid Laura to seek advice with the other important male figure in her life and expert philanderer, her father Felix, who adjudges all men to be just like him which begins a comedic caper for this crime fighting duo.
It leads to a mischievous comedic journey where the two follow clues and hunches, as well as some outrageous tip offs from Felix’s “sources” that eventually takes them to Mexico. It’s the dialogue throughout though which gives the film great character as we watch them profess their views on men and women, and how a generational gap can offer a difference in opinion, yet an understanding of the others stance.
On The Rocks offers a creative look at a city symphony of New York, accompanied by a quirky and atmospheric score primarily created by French Indie band, Phoenix. The cinematography is subtle and aids the score in offering us a magical and wonderous city. Academy award nominee Philippe Le Sourd, who worked on Coppola’s 2017 film The Beguiled, really did shoot this film beautifully, using all the tool in his repertoire to deliver a finely tuned finish canvas.
Murray and Jones display an emotional chemistry with one another, with Jones making a stellar case for future roles as a leading lady. She portrays Laura as an anxious Mother whose paranoia about her Husbands infidelity leads her to question her own self-worth, plaguing her role as a mother, her aspirations of being a writer and severely questioning her own self-worth, these anxieties being magnified due to her experiences with Felix acting in such a way during her childhood. Murray is the perfect foil however for Jones character in the film, always offering her pearls of charismatic wisdom and assurances of some laughter, as one of the roles of any Father should be to cheer up their Daughters when the can. Whether that be by teaching her to whistle or taking her on an electrifying race through the bright city streets in a red vintage Alfa Romeo, the other darling in Felix’s life.
Felix’s eccentricities throughout the film are met with a wry smile from his Daughter who has seemingly become used to seeing her Father act like this. Watching her Father charmingly talk his way out of trouble with the authorities to a point where they assist him on his journey as well as shamelessly gazing upon seeing Felix chat up every woman they come across, once you establish yourself as a lady’s man, lady’s man is the code you live your life by. It takes a firm stance by Laura to finally begin to take control of her life, starting by confronting the two men in her life, this is the type of electrifying response she needed to reawaken herself.
On The Rocks is a kind of quirky buddy movie of sorts, as Felix and Laura take a boozy trip around New York and we watch a beautiful Father Daughter relationship develop on screen with authenticity and a uniqueness that suggests their mannerisms are how they acted in their earlier days, going on adventures and whistling all the way along. This may not be a Coppola masterpiece like Lost In Translation is, but it is a strong effort and gives us a warm sense when watching that the time we spend with our parents should be cherished for as long as we can.
Available to watch on Apple TV now.
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