Somewhere

I'm a big fan of Sofia Coppola. I even enjoyed the more criticized Marie Antionette. So when I finished watching Somewhere, knowing next to nothing about it when I started except that it was a Focus feature, which I almost universally enjoy, and that it was supposed to be good, I was shocked to see her name come up as the director. Why? Because Somewhere is about as slow, uninteresting, and pretentious as a movie can be. Apparently many considered it a work of art, which I could agree with, as all art is subjective and some can find volumes of meaning where others see just a solid black block. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter category this time.

The basic story follows relatively successful actor Johnny Marco as he...well...does very little. He drives his expensive car, he goes to press conferences, he sits around and looks at the wall, and he bangs any readily available girl (of which there's always at least one). A small twist comes in when his ex-wife tells him she's leaving for a while and so he needs to take care of their daughter for a while and make sure she gets to summer camp. Meanwhile he has an awards show in Italy he has to attend, and so he brings her along. You might think this means there's a story here about redemption, about finding himself, about the bonding of father and daughter. It's somewhere in there (pun intended), but it's so lost among the dreariness and overly long shots that beg the audience to find meaning in them despite their emptiness that nothing makes an impact. And maybe that's the point, maybe we're all supposed to feel a complete lack of emotion just as Johnny does, but personally I found the whole thing more tedious and boring than soul-searching or thought-provoking.

The only good part of this movie was the fascinating look at the role of his daughter, played with surprising depth and expression by Elle Fanning. At once she seems completely oblivious to the life her father lives, but then the moment changes and we see just how concerned she is for him. She also delicately treads the line between living in the luxury surrounding her and trying to be normal as one. One of the most poignant parts of the movie comes when she phones room service to bring her the ingredients for a meal that she then makes for him. It doesn't sound like much, but the way the movie shows the ease with which she lives with this contrast is stunning.

So yes, there are some interesting moments, mostly revolving around the daughter, and the movie certainly has some points to make and things to say. It's just all drowned out by the absurdly slow pace and pretentiously artistic loooooong shots.

Somewhere gets a 4/10.