They say that the first person of the opposite sex that we ever fall in love with is our opposite sex parent. The example they set and our relationship with them will determine our own romantic entanglements for the entirety of our lives, or at least until we complete therapy. For various reasons, some real some patriarchal, this theory is especially pronounced for women and their relationship with their fathers. Countless songs have been written about the need for fathers to be good to their daughters and setting a proper example for what they should choose in a partner, legendary jokes about the job of a father being to keep her off of the stripper pole, western culture emphasizes the importance of the father-daughter relationship on female development. In reality, the environments in which we spend our formative years have an effect on all of us, regardless of our sex and the sexes of those we most come into contact with.
On The Rocks is the latest film from director Sofia Coppola, following a young author, wife, and mother named Laura (Rashida Jones) in haughty New York City who is beginning to feel neglected as her young mogul husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) is spending more time closing business deals alongside his attractive new account manager Fiona (Jessica Henwick). In the midst of her growing doubts, Laura reconnects with her larger-than-life playboy father Felix (Bill Murray) while he is in town visiting. After confiding in her father, he encourages her doubts and vows to use his connections to investigate Dean’s potential infidelities. The two engage in mystery-solving hijinks and in the process discover some truths about their own relationship.
The film is a return to form of sorts for Coppola, bringing that well balanced mixture of humor and drama that made her 2003 film Lost in Translation so beloved. It is filled with humorous moments throughout, but also has a bit of the feel of a quality mystery film that can be attributed to the way Coppola, who also wrote the film, slowly unravels the question of what Dean is really up to and the ambiguity of his actions. This, combined with its pacing, allows the film to never truly become boring. Thematically, Coppola was also able to create an interesting feature that delves into the effect that the past has on our current insecurities.
On the surface, On The Rocks was intended to center on a woman suspicious of her husband’s potential infidelities, but as the story progresses we come to find that the issue at the core of Laura’s marital doubts are the unresolved feelings she has with her father and his lifelong infidelities. The distrust that festers and grows within Laura as Dean becomes increasingly occupied and spends more time with Fiona is rooted in how she still feels regarding the behavior she has seen from Felix toward women throughout her life. From his extramarital dalliances while married to her mother, to his tireless flirting with every woman he comes into contact with, her distrust at the first sign of change within Dean is programming from the first man she ever loved and the way he interacted with women.
It is well known that the circumstances of our upbringings have a substantial effect on the way we live our lives as adults, with the implications for our romantic lives being one of the more consequential ways that our pasts dictate our present. For many, this baggage remains with them for years, coloring the interactions and connections they build as adults and weighing down any attempt at moving forward with their happiness. Laura’s own experience offers perspective for their viewer and whatever past trauma or emotions we may be dealing with that we may need to relinquish before finding our peace. Coppola cleverly and brilliantly makes this point visually in the film through the symbolism of two watches that Laura is gifted; one from her father and one from her husband. She discards her father’s watch which she coveted in her childhood, and with it the baggage and insecurity from his past misdeeds and treatment of women, and replaces it with the gift from Dean; a new beginning.
The ensemble in the film is led by Bill Murray, who offers a great supporting performance that provides the film with its levity and much of its entertainment value. Rashida Jones does well as his daughter and plays well off of Murray, but he’s clearly the star of the show here. I did come away from the film disappointed with the lack of Marlon Wayans and wish he had been given more to do. As part of the legendary Wayans family, he mostly sticks to comedic roles despite the clear exceptional talent for dramatic acting that he possesses. I was excited to see him in a dramatic role again, but he wasn’t given much to work with here. Still, On The Rocks is a heartfelt, funny film about reconciling our past to solidify our present and future.
Image: A24
