Movie: Somewhere
Director: Sofia Coppola (Marie Antoinette)
Writer: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning
Duration: 96 minutes
3 out of 5 stars
The opening shot to Sophia Coppola’s Somewhere inspires our attention because it doesn’t beg for it. Johnny Marco (Dorff), an upcoming actor in Hollywood, drives laps in a ring. His vehicle loops in and out of the frame, with us hearing only the car motoring closer and closer to us again. This shot must last for at least two minutes. But we aren’t irked. Coppola’s exposition is set instantly. In one long shot, this is a life going in circles, or more precisely, a life that is ‘spinning its wheels.’
Circles are a motif in Somewhere, expressing a life that is repetitious but wholesome. Johnny has a broken wrist from a stunt accident, so he relaxes in his Chateau Marmont suite and hires dancers to entertain him. He’s a ladies man, but his sex life is so boring he falls asleep during private strip dances and intercourse. Life, for Johnny, is a series of tedious observations coming and going.
At least until Cleo (Fanning), his 11 year-old daughter shows up. The obvious implication is that Johnny is divorced from his wife, but the relationship with his daughter is not fraught. Somewhere is, therefore, a buoyant film about characters not hoping to change, as they would fear that would probably aggravate their daily patterns. But in this happiness, there is a stasis. Johnny goes to press conferences, awkwardly poses with his sullen co-star (Michelle Monaghan) and then barely answers any questions regarding his film. Johnny doesn’t want questions, but answers.
Or maybe there’s just nothing. His willingness to stay put also gives him angst and existential thoughts. When Cleo comes into his life, he puts a smile on, lies about his promiscuous sex life and hectic disregard for everything. He’s paranoid, but that’s part of Cleo’s affection for him. He thinks a black van is spying on him, so Cleo takes the van’s license plate. They make a great team.
Coppola has said to have made Somewhere as a reflection on her life with her father—renowned director Francis Ford Coppola, who created masterpieces such as Apocalypse Now, The Conversation and The Godfather. Somewhere shows these characters as always on the go, in the fast lane, but then regressing slowly back to where they once were. Coppola frames her shots varyingly, in long and stationary, to emphasize the urgency to break free but the inevitability of not doing so.
It’s confusing because Johnny lives his life on the wild side. He’s a stunt man; an action icon. However, his personal life is banal, dull and predictable. Cleo is happy either way. They relax by the pool, another circular motif and Coppola does a magnificent pan out as the two of them nestle and tan by the pool. It puts us all in bliss.
Beforehand, there’s also a dangerously symbolic shot of Johnny watching Cleo do headstands and hold her breath under water. She moves frantically showing she is going somewhere, as Johnny sits in the middle, inert.
I wish I could love Somewhere. Sophia Coppola is a true talent who executes her films with the right shots, tone and pace. The film doesn’t take any obvious missteps, nor does it plod. We immediately accept that its intention is not to go anywhere, because that would be counter to its title. Simultaneously, I was hesitant about the fact that the film never developed.
It’s called Somewhere, not Nothing. I have seen the film twice now and, through both experiences, believe there is only just enough to make a movie here—in terms of what it says and how it progresses.
Johnny’s inner demons don’t break any new ground either. He is tempted by women, he drinks and smokes. He’s an emotionally flat man, who lives life with a whole lot of muscle. But I wish the film collected itself in a way that something was learned or challenged our emotions more. Is this a tragedy? No. Is this a comedy? No. I don’t know what to think of Somewhere, because Coppola never seems to learn much more about the characters than there was to know from the beginning.
But still, Somewhere is a different kind of delight. It’s an admirable film because the director has conveyed the right feelings for us and has let us go when the time was right. I’m not sure Somewhere has said anything completely distinct about the lives of these characters and maybe that’s the point.
Somewhere plays at The Screening Room today until March 31, for ticket information and showtimes see moviesinkingston.com
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