Sofia Coppola is undoubtedly a talented filmmaker; however whether or not she may be considered among the pantheon of great film auteurs as based on the criteria of Andrew Sarris is still to be seen. In his masterwork “Notes on the Auteur Cinema,” American film critic Andrew Sarris laid the groundwork for the “Auteur theory,” an ideology by which a director’s abilities as an artist are still assessed and scrutinized. A director, according to Sarris, must be technically competent, have a distinguishable personality throughout their body of work, and finally, have something called “interior meaning,” an axiom critics and directors alike still dispute. Sarris defines interior meaning as “the élan of the soul,” a concept that is, as Sarris puts it, “ambiguous, in any literary sense, because part of it is imbedded in the stuff of the cinema.” In essence, interior meaning acts as a conduit by which an auteur manipulates their audience. As an artist they are doing something on film so profound the value of the piece becomes unquantifiable.
It is through her misappropriation of interior meaning that Coppola falters in her abilities as a true auteur. Despite being a technically proficient filmmaker and creating an iconic directorial presence, Coppola’s misunderstanding of human emotion and her inability to create varied or genuine characters keeps her from being a true artistic presence. This however has not always been the case.
The professional life of Sofia Coppola appears to parallel that of Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, who Sarris describes as an artist who “evolved from an auteur to a metteur en scene.” A “metteur en scene” when translated means “scene-setter” and implies that the artist (while possessing technical competence) does not create films with any real depth. The early works of Sophia Coppola appeared to herald the coming of another auteur in the great Coppola dynasty. Her short film "Lick the Star" is a microcosm of the themes, techniques, and characters found in her later work. It’s a character piece that focuses on existential malaise as seen through the relationships of pre-teen girls. For better or worse, this film laid the groundwork for both her first feature film and the trajectory of her directorial career.
In 1999 her adaptation of the Jeffery Eugenides’ novel "The Virgin Suicides," Coppola was able to develop the precedents established in her short film to an incredible degree. Her expanded portrayal of existential discontent grew to encompass a loss of innocence and appeared to further challenge the masculine authority established by her father and his “New Hollywood” contemporaries. Her 2003 film "Lost in Translation" was both her artistic peak and the next logical step in Coppola’s filmography. "Translation" is a beautifully directed film that universalizes the themes of her previous works. In both Scarlet Johansson and Bill Murray, Coppola constructs identifiable characters that, despite their privilege, are just as bored and disenfranchised as Coppola’s youthful audience. Not only does she expand the age and gender of her characters, she creates a relationship between Johansson and Murray in which the audience could invest themselves. Coppola’s films appear to have an autobiographical quality to them, with each film representing her progression as an artist and as a human being, and this is where the problem lies.
Coppola is a deeply personal filmmaker; unfortunately her privileged upbringing stunts the stories and characters she is able to create. From "Marie Antoinette" to "The Bling Ring," Coppola’s inability to create identifiable characters takes away from the interior meaning of her work. Marie Antoinette, "Somewhere's" Johnny Marco, and the entire cast of "The Bling Ring" are privileged, petulant debutantes afflicted with ennui. The lack of depth is frustrating. Coppola tells the same story with a different backdrop; she isn’t so much an artist as much as a set dresser.
Coppola may not be an auteur by Sarris’ definition, but she’s still a budding filmmaker. She has the opportunity to grow, and who knows, maybe her upcoming film "Fairyland" will buck the superficial trend. Coppola certainly isn’t the first filmmaker to have the quality of her films dip. Perhaps "Fairyland" will do for Coppola what "Mulholland Drive" did for David Lynch.
