Decembers here as we start to head into an Oscar season of films. One of those films I’ve been particularly interested in is Somewhere. Directed by Sofia Coppola, director of
Lost in Translation and the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, who you may know as the director of the Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Wow! Talk about a tough act to follow.
This film first appeared on my radar when I found out that Stephen Dorff was playing the lead. He’s just such a great actor if you’ve not seen the small independent film he's in called
Entropy I'd recommend it. However he’s probably better known as the bad guy in
Blade. Despite this he rarely gets many great parts so I was really glad to see him get a lead role in a Coppola film.
In ‘Somewhere’ he plays Johnny Marco a Hollywood actor who on the surface looks to have everything but in reality lives a monotonous, tired existence in room 59 of the Chateau Marmont hotel. About all he can do to stave off his boredom is drive around in his black Ferrari or get drunk at party and have sex with anything wanting to latch on to his fame, these relationships are empty and impersonal at best.
Even with all his money his lifestyle has become boring and routine. It couldn’t be summed up better than in a scene where two bronzed, blond twin’s pole dance at the foot of his bed while the Foo Fighters - My Hero plays in the background. Instead of thinking what a lucky guy, he’s living the dream! You get this long drawn out scene that’s shallow and awkward, you uncomfortably watch the dull played out choreography which you can tell has been a regular occurrence for Johnny as he humorously drifts asleep before they even finish their routine.
Its only when he wakes up one morning with his daughter drawing on his plaster cast that we genuinely see him smile for the first time as she breathes new life into his stuffy air conditioned existence. He avoids telling her the truth of how he broke his arm of course as he was drunk at a party with his friend Sammy (played by Chris Pontius, A.K.A. Party Boy from Jackass!!!) this being one of the many lies he has to tell to hide his lifestyle.
His daughter Cleo played by Elle Fanning is charming and confident, having a rich Dad means she’s spoilt but she doesn’t act it. She’s so together with her life even at such a young age while her father struggles to get through every day. Being the only pure good thing he has you can see the crushing shame on his face as he has to deal with the guilt of being adolescent father who was never there.
When Cleo is in his life it starts to make sense again and brings some clarity to all the bullshit adult crap pulling him down. Its truly joyous just watching their bond strengthen as they play like kids in a swimming pool while The Strokes -
I’ll Try Anything Once plays in the background. (Chokes me up just watching the trailer)
Going with the Strokes was a real smart move as Julian Casablancas has that dense sounding voice that is still raw and iconic but more importantly his lyrics are all about going through the same fame and disillusionment as the father is.
So far I’ve probably given this movie a glowing review but be warned its painfully slow and there’s very little dialogue making it really unsatisfying at times when characters don’t open up. It’s realistic however and it maintains this realism throughout but at the cost of nothing spectacular really happening, it’s why I can give away so much of the plot and not really spoil anything.
The main thing portrayed though is the disconnect that happens when you live a life of isolation and unfulfillment. Life loses meaning and every day you push away from yourself, losing grip of your ability to relate and gain the richness from others. (Something he now only finds in his daughter) This leads to a self destructive process of wanting to do anything to distract himself from his own thoughts in an effort to not come to terms with the pain, something I know all too well.
It’s only when Johnny confronts these thoughts head on after not being in the company of his daughter that he has a mental break down and realises all the distractions and casual sex he puts in front of himself only make his life more numb and pointless. In the middle of his breakdown, he says on the phone "I'm not even a person" he is right, because what defines a person is his/her ability to experience, to be fully receptive to the whole spectrum of emotions. He has to get away from his life style if he ever wants to be a person again and grow up to be a better father.
This movie is not for everyone I like it but most will hate it and be bored stiff. I couldn’t have been more excited to watch this film but even I felt really frustrated at the tedium. I was also disappointed that the movie was so lacking at times but there’s something here and its in the subtle moments, that say so much, without saying anything at all.
Boydee Blog Rating: 2.5/5 under water tea cup drinkage
