Somewhere

Somewhere goes nowhere and I suppose that is the point, but it makes for an awfully boring movie. I spent most of this movie waiting for something, anything, to happen, and a good chunk of it waiting for somebody to say something, anything. There’s almost no dialogue for the first 20 minutes or so of the movie. Again, I guess there’s a point being made there, but oh. my. god. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Somewhere, the latest from writer-director Sofia Coppola, stars Stephen Dorff as rich, bored, hard-partying movie star, Johnny Marco, and Elle Fanning (Dakota’s little sister) as his 11-year old daughter Cleo. Fanning gives a lovely performance. You can see that talent definitely runs in that family. But the real stars of the movie are the city of Los Angeles and the Chateau Marmont hotel, where Johnny takes up residence between movies. As a former LA resident, I can say the movie captures the look and feel of the city in an authentic and beautiful way. In fact, the visual imagery in the film is gorgeous, but for me, that didn’t make up for what it lacks in dialogue and plot.

The plot, what there is of it, focuses on Johnny’s ennui and how a surprise visit from his daughter forces him to reexamine his life.  But as Johnny is wondering “what’s the point of it all”, I was wondering the same thing about the movie. I don’t mind a movie that makes you think and I understand the concept of “less is more.” But sometimes less is less. I’d say wait for this one to come out on DVD and then watch it when you’re having a hard time falling asleep.