Richard Crouse

Roman Coppola has worked on his father’s films since he was a teenager, doing sound on The Outsiders and directing the second unit and special effects for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. CQ is his feature film debut, although he is already well known for directing music videos. The action takes place in Paris in 1968 and involves a character named Paul, an idealistic American film student who ends up directing a sci-fi b-movie. CQ is an incredibly layered and stylistic film, maybe too much so. There are two films within the film, and Coppola cuts back and forth randomly, using Paul’s cinema verite black and white experimental film to provide the emotional core of the story, while the science fiction film propels the action. It’s a valiant try, and while it’s not completely successful, I really liked CQ. Coppola has nailed the time and place perfectly – Paris in 1968 looks like the hippest spot on earth – coaxed good performances from his actors and put together a soundtrack that actually adds to the movie, rather than just support it.