Sofia Coppola daughter of the legendary Francis Ford exploded onto the filmmaking scene with her touching second feature Lost in Translation, pretty much flopped with her historical follow up Marie Antoinette and her latest opus aptly sits somewhere between these previous offerings. With a return to themes explored within Lost in Translation, the territory is familiar but also introduces different approaches through the central father and daughter characters. As the
Blu-ray of
Somewhere hits shelves today, read on to discover our review. Johnny Marco (
Stephen Dorff) is a spoilt and reclusive Hollywood star. Hidden away in the luxury Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles he lives a life that consists of drinking, partying and scores of women. Staving off boredom between projects he ultimately suffers a vapid existence that suits the self-aggrandising views he holds of himself. As well as being a star, Marco is a part time father to Cleo (
Elle Fanning), an intelligent and distinctly unspoilt 11-year-old daughter from his failed marriage. When Cleo is dropped on his doorstep, Marco is suddenly left having to forge a relationship with her and attempt to fit her into his wayward lifestyle. Could Cleo be the one person who can provide Marco with the constant company he so desperately craves?
Somewhere returns Coppola to the setting of impersonal hotel dwelling and the subsequent theme of isolation despite being surrounded by people that she explored in Lost in Translation. Whilst its incredibly hard to refrain from simply writing a comparison between the two films, I will stop myself from doing so! Somewhere displays a slice of life look at protagonist Johnny Marcos life and the real cost of a privileged lifestyle. Stephen Dorffs Marco is immediately unlikeable, but eventually viewers begin to feel the sympathy towards him that Coppola wants us to. In a solid performance that captures the disillusionment with his characters life, but also his acceptance of the benefits of a privileged lifestyle, Dorff draws you into Marcos mentality. The real star of Somewhere though, is definitely Elle Fanning.
Disliking the precocious persona of her older sister Dakota immensely, I initially had strong doubts as to whether the younger Fanning would impress. However, in an incredible performance, rather than simply befalling the cliché of the child wise beyond her years, Fanning maintains a distinctive innocence and vulnerability throughout. In a scene that sees Cleo explaining the ideas behind the Twilight saga to her father, Coppola highlights both this endearing innocence within her and the overarching isolation in Marco. This scene is one of the few truly touching moments within the narrative. It is also representative of the ironic wit that meanders through the narrative and offers brief moments of comic relief within a rather heavy story. Coppola brings a strong sense of direction to the film and is extremely accomplished at representing themes and narrative points in her filmmaking. This is probably best exemplified in the opening sequence that sees Marco driving his car around a track for approximately 5 minutes of screen time. Hammering home the banal nature of Marcos life, the representation is literal and effective. However, even though it achieves its intentions, it essentially feels unnecessary. Whilst one of Coppolas achievements as a director is her ability to visually represent the core themes of her narratives, here she appears to be consumed with the technique ultimately leading to the film easily being considered a boring watch. Yes Marco ultimately leads an unfulfilling life, but that shouldnt mean that Somewhere should represent this so literally that it actually makes the film equally as dull! Coppola is undoubtedly an accomplished filmmaker, but she unfortunately spends too much time concentrating on technique here that it negatively impacts on the narrative: the true driving force behind a film.
QUALITY
With a rich tapestry of imagery that reflects both the artificial gloss of Los Angeles and the unsatisfying empty existence Marco has, the quality of the 1080p transfer flawlessly captures Coppolas vision and displays it beautifully. At times I felt like I could pause the image on screen and it could pass as a piece of art. The lush, almost tropical images of the Chateau Marmont Hotels poolside contrasted fantastically with the bleak and monotonous interiors of the hotel. The differences between these images are exquisitely contrasted in the HD format and reveal Coppolas intentions completely.
EXTRAS
As seems to be a rather irritating emerging trend, Somewhere well and truly misses the potential of a Blu-ray release by featuring only a single special feature. The Making of Somewhere is a standard documentary that includes some interview footage with Dorff and Coppola. Its not entirely gripping and unless you really fall for the film, it would be very easy to skip it. As there are no other extras on the disc, its a big let down.
Somewhere is released on
Blu-ray from today.