Now a âprovocativeâ and âimpressiveâ (Variety) film from director Gia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppolaâs granddaughter)âstarring Emma Roberts, James Franco, Nat Wolff, and Val Kilmerâthe fiction debut from James Franco that Vogue called âcompelling and gutsy.â
James Francoâs story collection traces the lives of a group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In âLockheedâ a young womanâs summerâspent working a dull internshipâis suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In âAmerican Historyâ a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner during a classroom skitâonly to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In âI Could Kill Someone,â a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bullyâs own inner life.
These âspare and rivetingâ (O, The Oprah Magazine) stories are a compelling portrait of lives on the rough fringes of youth. Palo Alto is, âa collection of beautifully written storiesâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) that âcapture with perfect pitch the impossible exhilaration, the inevitable downbeatness, and the pure confusion of being an adolescentâ (Elle).
Features a bonus essay by James Franco on Gia Coppola's film adaptation.