Movie Review: Somewhere

Somewhere (2010)
Starring: Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning
Written and Directed By: Sophia Coppola

This was one of my most-anticipated films of 2010. I love Sophia Coppola. I think Lost in Translation (2003) is one of the best films of the 2000s. It may be hard for her to top what she managed to achieve with that film. I also thought The Virgin Suicides (1999) was an excellent directorial debut and I even enjoyed Marie Antoinette (2006) even though there are many who despised it.

Somewhere is Coppola's most self-indulgent film. It has long, monotonous scenes of nothing. As a result, the viewer is left with an acute understanding of the point she is trying to make while getting a little restless at the same time. Take for example the opening scene. Hollywood actor Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) drives his expensive (and loud) car around and around in endless circles on a sunny, dusty patch of land in L.A. County. The car circles the entire track at least four times before coming to a stop. Coppola has made her point -- Johnny Marco is aimless, restless and is quickly going nowhere in life. However, it is at the expense of her audience who may become detached and alienated right from the long opening scene.

That being said, Coppola has this knack for exploring an atmosphere. That talent is on full display in Somewhere. Like her previous films, Somewhere is less a cohesive narrative and more of a series of vignettes that allow the viewer a glimpse into the lives of Johnny and his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning). The atmosphere on full display is the small bubble Johnny lives in -- which consists of an endless stream of parties and publicity junkets, his near-empty room at the infamous Chateau Marmont and his aimless drives around Hollywood. When Cleo comes to stay with him for a few weeks because her mother needs "time off," Johnny and Cleo embark on a series of little "get-to-know-you" father-daughter bonding moments. Whether spending time together in their massive hotel suite in Italy or simply playing ping-pong near the Chateau Marmont swimming pool, Cleo suddenly provides meaning and purpose to Johnny's life. Sometimes a person's happiness, whether you are rich or poor, can be as simple as having a loving companion at your side.

Somewhere has a very European minimalism feel to its construction. It felt French, if that makes any sense. That minimalist approach isolates Johnny and Cleo in this vapid Hollywood environment. Despite that setting, there is nothing vapid or Hollywood about their bonding experiences. The film excels most when the two lead actors are on the screen together.

Coppola had Dorff and Fanning hang out alone together for weeks leading up to the start of filming. That tactic paid off as the two of them have an undeniable and completely believable chemistry. Johnny treats Cleo less like a daughter and more like an equal partner, suggesting that while Johnny may not have natural paternal instincts when it comes to discipline (he takes Cleo gambling in Las Vegas), he loves his daughter. In a film of long, aimless scenes, it's the performances of Dorff and Fanning that keep the viewer invested in movie. Dorff may not be the most interesting actor, but he does a solid job in Somewhere -- based on his own stalled Hollywood career, Dorff is perfectly cast in the role. However, Fanning is the real star here -- she's an adorable, talented and pretty young woman who is a dozen times more charming than her precocious, overrated older sister, Dakota. I have an appreciation for child actors who actually act like the children they are in their roles, instead of going the wise-beyond-their-years route. Fanning gives a subtle, nuanced performance that is so good that I hope she gets a Best Supporting Actress nod at the Oscars. Her scenes with Dorff and Chris Pontius (the Jackass star plays Johnny's stoner buddy, Sammy) are the highlights of the film.

In the end, Somewhere feels a little hit and miss. While there were some genuinely moving scenes there were also times when I simply just wanted to know a bit more about Johnny and Cleo. I wanted at least one stand-alone scene where they come to terms with one another, as Charlotte and Bob did a few times in Lost in Translation. What was their relationship like before this extended bonding period? How does Johnny really feel about his fame? We know that he's depressed and lonely and isolated in his hotel room, but we don't know when or why those feelings started. That being said, Coppola tends to leave things unsaid -- it's up to the viewer to read into the characters' actions and decide for themselves. Sophia Coppola has never disappointed, though. She remains a unique voice in the world of Hollywood, choosing to quietly focus on people instead of cars, money or extended action sequences.

FINAL GRADE: B

30 Day Movie Meme: Day 18

Day 18: CHARACTER(S) YOU RELATE TO


I've really slacked on this 30 Day Movie Meme, but I haven't completely forgotten it! It will get done one of these days. When I saw what the topic was for Day 18 I knew, instantly, which two characters I'd write about.


Josephine "Jo" March is based on the character from Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, Little Women. My favourite film adaptation is the 1949 version starring June Allyson as Jo (it also featured Elizabeth Taylor as bratty Amy and Janet Leigh as the maternal Meg). More than Winona Ryder (in 1994) and more than even Katherine Hepburn (in 1933), Allyson captured the essence of Jo March -- that vibrant, tomboyish, larger-than-life young woman whose only disadvantage seemed to be that she was born in the wrong time period (the film is set in the mid- to late- 19th-century). I can completely relate to Jo's more obvious character traits and personal passions. I can relate to her loud voice, coarse language and her embarrassing foot-in-mouth moments. 

I can also relate to her tendency to sob like a baby while reading a sad piece of literature, her passion for writing and becoming a published author, her outlandish imagination, her drama (she secretly desires to be an actress) and her desire to travel and see the world, even if it means leaving behind her beloved home and family. I can even sympathize with her awkward position with Laurie, a man who cares dearly for her but for whom she only views as a close friend. Even her back and forth indecision as to the appealing (or unappealing) prospects of getting married one day is something I can identify with myself. I love watching this film (I usually try to watch it at least once a year) because it makes me laugh to watch hyper-active, emotionally over-the-top Jo try to figure out what she wants out of life, usually using her charming and romantic rhetoric. In the end, she winds up a published author, has her own independence and falls in love with a handsome older German professor she met while living on her own ...that would be nice. 

Charlotte is Sophia Coppola's main female lead in her 2003 film, Lost in Translation. Played by Scarlett Johansson in her breakout role, Charlotte is in Tokyo while her photographer husband is off on a shoot. Having accompanied him to Japan, Charlotte finds herself rethinking the decisions that got her to this point in her young life. Along the way she develops a close bond with an aging actor, played by Bill Murray. The two of them, together, reconnect with the world outside their own personal problems. 


I love Sophia Coppola, mainly for making this film and creating the characters of Charlotte and Bob Harris. Her keen intuition and her complete understanding of how real characters should be written is sharply felt in this film. 

For everything energetic Jo March is, I can relate to some of Charlotte's much quieter attributes. I can relate to her restlessness at growing older. I can understand that disparity between being young but, for some reason, feeling a lot older than I should feel. I understand that curse of overanalyzing everything and rethinking past decisions. I too can be moody and have the tendency to make snap judgements of people of whom I know nothing about. I've travelled on my own before and, in general, I prefer it because you learn a lot about yourself when you are completely alone in a foreign country. You have to force yourself to interact with people you otherwise would never have said a word to had you been with a companion you knew. You get to appreciate the finer things when you don't have anyone else around to distract you. That being said, it can be lonely and a little frightening at times but, ultimately, always worth it for the people you meet and the experiences you take back home with you. Even though Charlotte is technically in Japan with her husband, he's not really around, so she's left to her own resources. 


But, more than anything else, she just wants to connect with someone on a deeper level and have a good time while doing it. But, then again, don't we all?