by John Bizub, Contributing Writer
The Coppola family is infamous in the film industry. Starting with the father, Francis, each member of their family has reached some sort of discussion regarding their films or their status in the film world. Sofia has reached infamy with her films and Roman has embarrassed himself. Then there’s Gia. With two films under her belt, she consistently tries to make herself the outlier in the Coppola family by making films directed at the younger demographic. With her directorial debut, Palo Alto, Gia has attempted to capture teen adolescence in a dreamlike perspective and does it wonderfully. Now, she aims towards social media and the youthful demographic with her sophomore effort, Mainstream.
I saw this film at the end of April, and I finally have garnered my thoughts on it. Yeah, it’s that kind of film. But before going into Mainstream, I was very much anticipating seeing where Gia would take her career after Palo Alto, and covering the toxicity of mainstream social media culture seems right up her alley. Plus, the promotional stills and trailers showed a new side of Andrew Garfield that I couldn’t wait to see after his excellent performance in Under the Silver Lake.
I think Mainstream is a great introspective piece on what makes big internet celebrities so famous and the psychology on what they will do to make themselves “mainstream”. It stars Maya Hawke, Nat Wolff, and Andrew Garfield and tells the story of a young girl who finds a new talent by the name of Link (Garfield). Link’s talent makes his newfound fame completely go to his head. Garfield is out of this world, playing a completely different character from his usual roles. His range in this film alone is a force to be reckoned with. He goes from cute, quirky romance to over-the-top and goofy, and it works! Hawke and the supporting cast are also great but don’t quite reach the caliber of Garfield.
I think this movie will divide many. Some will call it, “Internet Buzzwords: The Movie,” while many will love it for its critique on internet culture. And I choose the latter. Mainstream discusses the major ups and downs of internet culture, even as it dips its toes into the idea of cancel culture and how that destroys the morality of the viewers watching. I think Coppola has a great grasp on youth culture, but the style of this film feels inconsistent. Sometimes it presents itself as an old film from the ’40s with its text to establish what the character is thinking, then it becomes a whimsical and over-the-top comedy. The screenplay is also fairly strong, as it raises questions on what we view as acceptable online.
I think Gia Coppola is one of the most promising young filmmakers right now. She consistently has something to say with her films and does not try to be preachy with their messaging. Mainstream is another home run in her filmography and I am very excited to see what she does next.
Grade: B