Sofia Coppola movies aren't for everyone. She seems to enjoy long silent shots to establish the mood in her movies. While this cerebral dialogue-less approach can be effective, it seems that she gets carried away with it. Or, more likely, there are people out there that actually enjoy this approach. I am not one of them. I like a film that has a point. A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end. A film should leave the viewer with a sense of satisfaction. Somewhere does neither.
Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is a successful actor. His approach to life seems simpler than those around him. He dresses down whenever he can and almost seems out of place at black-tie events. But his life has become complicated. His female relationships are casual, at best. It feels like Marco, for all his success, is missing something. When his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) spends a few days with him, it seems that Johnny might have latched on to the thing that he is missing.
Cleo is a bright eleven-year-old. She is energetic and down-to-Earth. She also seems to have a passion for real food. Johnnny lives in a hotel suite, where room service is just a phone call away. Yet Cleo would rather call for cheese, milk and butter so she can make her own macaroni and cheese. It is this simplicity that seems to connect with Johnny. In the midst of his jet-setting, Johnny manages to spend a bit of time with Cleo before sending her off to a camp where her mother may (or may not) eventually pick her up. Where Johnny goes from there is anyone's guess. This film does not have an ending, but seems to suggest that Johnny has decided to simplify his life.
Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this cerebral mess. I don't really want to dignify it by calling it a "story" but I will. Her story makes little sense. It is more an introduction of characters and their interactions with no clear intent on where they are headed or where they have come from. It is a snapshot of a week or two in their lives. There are mysterious text messages that are never explained, there are characters that drift in and out that we never really meet, and there is a sleep disorder that is never explained or explored. In short, Coppola throws a lot at us in an hour and forty minutes without really ever giving us anything. The dialogue was fresh (what dialogue she included) but the pacing was enough to give the audience a sleep disorder.
The acting was flawless. Because of the lack of dialogue, a great deal of meaning rested on the shoulders of the actors. While we never really get anything tangible, I think I did pick up on the basic premise of the film (but am not sure that I hit it dead on). What I did take away from the film was a tribute to the performances of Dorff and Fanning. They were both very solid and did a good job with facial expressions and there on-screen interactions. They both felt very genuine. It made me enjoy their characters who had no past, present or future. The acting was a bright spot in this otherwise drab, boring film.
Somewhere received an R rating from the MPAA. The film had a few sex scenes and gratuitous nudity. I think the nudity was a distraction to try and keep things interesting. I never thought I would say that even the nudity was kind of boring. It just did not come together for me. Aside from the sexual content, the film also had smoking, drinking and strong language. The rating seemed more likely to be tied to the nudity and sexual situations as the other content was contextual and moderate. I would suggest a mid-teen audience can handle anything in this movie except the utter boredom.
I felt dumber when I walked out of Somewhere. I felt like I wasted two hours of my life. There was no point to the film. Or, if there was a point, it was wasted. The sluggish pacing and lengthy scenes felt more like filler than story line. There was not plot, only characters. While I liked the characters and could identify with them, I just wasn't connected to any meaning. It felt like Coppola was trying to say something without actually saying it. I don't want to guess, I want to be rewarded for my time. I want something that can make me say "wow, that was intriguing." Instead, the film felt boring with gratuitous nudity thrown in to try and keep things interesting. When the nudity gets boring, you know you have a snoozer on your hands. Skip this one. 4.5/10 (for the acting).
