I completely agree. Except for a few, uh, heavy-handed moments, I thought this film played to all of Coppola's strengths as a director. Like everyone else, I had Lost in Translation in mind going in, but I felt the film was more remarkable for its differences than its similarities to that film. Stephen Dorff, both actor and character, are a far cry from Bill Murray, and the relationship under the glass here, the father-daughter relationship, is (thankfully) unalike LoT's ennui-bathed, semi-platonic mismatch. In a film with almost no plot, those differences are enormous.

Also, It was refreshing to see an impeccably-paced, patient 90 minute film, coming off of a year of choppy and lopsided two & a half hour beasts. I was willing to forgive the hamfisted ending.