Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola comments on the Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson age gap in the film, revealing that she now feels somewhat conflicted about it. Released in 2003, Lost in Translation stars Johansson as a neglected young woman and Murray as a former movie star, chronicling the close bond that develops between the two after they cross paths in Tokyo. Johansson was only about 17 during filming, playing a character in her early 20s, while Murray was in his early 50s.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone for Lost in Translation‘s 20th anniversary, Coppola shares her thoughts regarding the age gap between Murray and Johansson. While admitting that her perspective on the age difference has changed somewhat in the last 20 years, the director explains that it plays into one of the core themes of the movie. Check out Coppola’s full comment below:
“I showed it to my kids a few years ago when we were going to Tokyo and staying at the Park Hyatt, and that was the first time I’d watched it in a while, and they were like, ‘Why is she so young and he’s so much older?’ I had made it when I was closer to Scarlett’s age and didn’t think that much about it. That was something that they noticed the most.”
“I don’t know. I’m not going to think about it. I was just doing my thing at the time it was made. I did notice that watching it with my kids, because they’re teenagers and they were like, ‘What’s going on with that?’ But Bill is so lovable and charming. Part of the story is about how you can have romantic connections that aren’t sexual or physical. You can have crushes on people where it isn’t that kind of thing. Part of the idea was that you can have connections where you can’t be together for various reasons because you’re at different points in life.”
Has Lost In Translation’s Age Gap Aged Well?
Great strides have been taken in recent years to address gendered power imbalances in Hollywood and elsewhere, and a relationship between a man in his early 50s and a woman who has only just passed 20 certainly does raise some questions. That being said, as Coppola explains, the movie’s age gap does ultimately serve a key idea of the story.
Both Charlotte, Johansson’s character, and Bob, Murray’s character, are at drastically different stages of their lives. Both characters are dealing with own different issues and both are ultimately living lonely, insulated lives in a busy city. Lost in Translation sees these two characters develop an unlikely bond, which is certainly romantic, in a sense, but not in a physical way. These two characters enter each other’s lives at important junctures, and the bond proves to be something that they both need, even if it can’t last.
If there had been a sexual component to the relationship, the Lost in Translation age gap surely wouldn’t have aged as well, and Murray’s character would likely end up looking somewhat predatory. Thankfully, however, this isn’t the case, and the movie ultimately paints a beautiful picture of this fleeting connection that exists on a deep, emotional level. That being said, it’s certainly fair to ask questions about the age gap in Lost in Translation, and it seems less likely that such a dynamic would be at the center of a similar kind of story today.
