WARNING SOME SPOILERS!!!
“Somewhere”, directed by, Sophia Coppola explores the life of international movie star, Johnny Marco. In this fictional biography Johnny Marco, played by Stephen Dorf, is a successful actor, womanizer, and nervous father. Not a lot happens in “Somewhere”, but that’s not to say that it isn’t interesting or void of drama. Marco is a pretty self absorbed actor; for example: the first time we meet Marco he’s in his hotel room watching twin sisters dance erotically to entertain him. Now, most men could only dream of a fantasy like this, but Marco is only slightly entertained by the notion. Soon he is fast asleep and the women slink out quietly back to whatever strip club they call home. After viewing the entire film, it became apparent to me that this scene serves as a microcosm. I mean think about it, if you’re rich, successful, and every woman “wants you”, it’s hard to find ways to stimulate your senses. Even the way Coppola presents this scene to us screams “mundane”. It’s not shot like a rap video with hip-hop beats. It’s presented raw, and uninteresting in a simple two shot. I think Coppola makes an interesting statement about what it means to be a “celebrity” and really delves into the psyche of a person that has lost all sense of how “normal” people live. She’s exploring the idea, how do you go on living if everything is within your reach? One might feel purposeless. Drive and motivation is all but gone for Marco. Another interesting thing about Marco is he’s not a crazy over the top celebrity like Lindsey Lohan, he’s more like a Dicaprio: smooth, courteous, and bored out of his skull. He’s just counting the days, and we, as the audience, are too.
The movie meanders from this point on; out of one scene and into the next; each scene a snippet of Marco’s daily activities. However, things change quickly for Marco when his teenage daughter, Cleo, played by Ellie Fanning is dropped off to spend some time with her estranged father. It is clear that, while the two enjoy each other’s company, neither really has a grasp on just “who” the other really is. They step precariously through their lives, almost as if they are feeling the other out for the first time. In some ways it’s quite charming. Even the “wrench” that Cleo represents in Marco’s life isn’t very dramatic. Marco and her play guitar hero, lounge by the pool, and have fun trips to Italian movie premieres. But, there’s no real drama, no sense of urgency, but I think this is what Coppola is going for. The only real tension is the way women come and go out of Marco’s life with ease, and the only real question this raises is: How does this affect Cleo’s perception of her father?
Some of my favorite moments are the ones with ordinary people approaching Marco. There’s a great scene with a young starving actor, who asks Marco for advice. He answer’s the striving actor’s question simply, but ultimately doesn’t care and really just want to be left alone so he can go hit on an attractive blond at the same party. Other similar scenes include his interview with a foreign TV host while premiering his latest film in Italy. Another simple awkward scene, where Marco clearly doesn’t understand the questions or the language, but it doesn’t even matter. The interview is so trite and simple; any sound bite from Marco’s mouth is enough to keep the fans coming back for seconds.
On the whole the performances are good. Stephen Dorf does a nice job portraying the successful actor, and Ellie Fanning is good as his daughter Cleo. The real star of this movie is the camera. Its voyeuristic viewpoint and backstage pass to “A day in the life of Hollywood Royalty” is the real star of this movie. Breaking down the barrier that separates the seat buyers from the seat fillers. Despite the lack of a major plot, I found myself glued to this film. It is definitely one that I was excited to see then wondered what happened to it. I’m glad I had a chance to catch up with it on DVD, and would recommend it to those of you who are fans of Sophia’s. If you want to check it out currently you can get it on netflix and your local movie rental house.
Please if you agree or disagree with my opinion consider leaving a response. I would love to hear from you.
I hated this film. I was so disappointed at the lack of plot that I could never recover as a viewer. It felt like a waste of Sophia's talents. On the whole though, I agree with some of the things you liked about the film. Just doesn't outweigh the complete lack of plot for me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this film for similar reasons as you mentioned above. There were some really well-done and humorous scenes and clever camera techniques to convey the sense mudanity and predictability of celebrity life rather than the expected portrayal of glamour and excess. Although Coppola's style can be characterized in many of her movies as lacking plot or 'boring, I think there is a deliberate reason for this style. She is not pushing a message or theme at viewers, but instead asking them to be onlookers in one particular individual's life and create their own interpretations of what to take from the movie.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the soundtrack (as in all of her movies) is killer.
I'm right with you on all these points Gena. Thanks for the feedback. For those of you that despise the film, that's fine, but give it a second viewing I think you might find some truth in the comments on this page. But, again this movie does lack plot, so well said John Michael.
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