Why Lana Del Rey Feels Drawn to Sofia Coppola’s Films

From the early days of Lana Del Rey’s rise to fame, fans have been quick to spot the similarities between her music and certain iconic films. The blend of heartbreak, glamour, obsession, and the complexities of growing up that runs through her songs seems to echo the mood of a handful of cult classics. Thanks to platforms like Tumblr and a steady stream of fan-made clips on YouTube, films such as American Beauty, The Love Witch, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and even the controversial Lolita have become unofficial viewing for Del Rey’s followers. But if there’s one director whose work is most often linked with Del Rey, it’s Sofia Coppola. Spend any time in online spaces where Coppola’s films are celebrated, and you’ll likely find a crowd of Del Rey fans as well.

The connection between the two artists isn’t hard to understand. There was even talk of a collaboration when Coppola asked Del Rey to write songs for her biopic Priscilla, a project that would have been a dream for fans of both. Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out. Still, both have explored the tangled emotions of young women and girls, focusing on the confusion and pain that can come with finding your place in the world. Del Rey’s early tracks, back when she was still going by Lizzy Grant, carry a sense of innocence mixed with vulnerability and a hint of danger. Songs like ‘Put Me in a Movie’, ‘Jump’, and ‘Afraid’ seem to fit right in with the worlds Coppola creates, as if characters like Marie Antoinette, Priscilla, or Lux Lisbon could have had them on repeat—if only they’d had a set of headphones handy.

The Virgin Suicides: A Shared Aesthetic

Lux Lisbon, one of the sisters in The Virgin Suicides, spends her final months rebelling against strict parents, seeking freedom in ways that only leave her feeling more lost. The image of her waking up on a football field at dawn, left behind by Trip Fontaine after a night together, captures a deep sadness—a search for meaning that ends in emptiness. It’s a feeling that runs through many of Del Rey’s songs, especially those from Ultraviolence. The parallels between Lux’s story and Del Rey’s lyrics are hard to miss.

It’s no wonder, then, that Del Rey counts The Virgin Suicides among her top picks from Coppola’s filmography. The film, Coppola’s first as a director, is a mix of soft, feminine visuals and a dark undercurrent, as the sisters’ final act of rebellion is both shocking and tragic. Del Rey’s track ‘This Is What Makes Us Girls’ could easily be the soundtrack to Lux’s life, with its tales of wild nights and the bonds between young women. The cinematic quality of Del Rey’s work makes her admiration for Coppola’s films feel natural.

Music and Film: A Creative Overlap

Del Rey herself has said,

“I think of my songs as if they were films. Flashbacks, cuts, memories, with a monologue that’s running.”

This approach to songwriting mirrors Coppola’s style, where visuals and mood take centre stage, and stories unfold in fragments and memories. Both artists are drawn to the beauty and pain of youth, and their work often blurs the line between nostalgia and heartbreak.

For Del Rey, Coppola’s films aren’t just an influence—they’re a kind of creative kinship. The way both explore the struggles of growing up, the longing for escape, and the bittersweet nature of memory has made their work resonate with a generation of fans. Whether through music or film, they capture the feeling of being young and lost, searching for meaning in a world that doesn’t always make sense.