Somewhere

“Somewhere”

Directed and written by Sofia Coppola

With Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning

“Somewhere”

Nowhere Man

A shot of a Lamborghini circling round and round  in an empty desert opens  “Somewhere.” That vision is a metaphor for what follows in Sofia Coppola’s hypnotic new film. The driver, Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), is a movie star whose life is heading nowhere—but he is going there in style. This quiet film is about a pampered film star who is reassessing his life. The film examines the emptiness of celebrity.

Johnny lives in the Chateau Marmot, the Hollywood hotel famed for its decadent show business tenants. He may be surrounded by fans and gorgeous women, but psychologically he lives in isolation, having no taste for the excesses of stardom.

When identical twin pole dancers entertain him in his room he nods off. He falls asleep while having sex. He is blasé about the paparazzi. Unshaven, uncombed, he seems to always have a cigarette, a bottle of beer or a drink in his hand.   

He is always polite but also expressionless, aimlessly meandering from press junkets to parties. There seems always to be some kind of party going on, but he doesn’t participate in the fun. He drifts through life.

Women may throw themselves at Johnny, but he only has eyes for one. Chloe (Elle Fanning) is his 11-year-old daughter from his prior marriage. His ex has suddenly left town and asks Johnny to take care of her. Neither parent has made much time for the lovely Chloe but now Johnny has to get off his couch.

Johnny takes Chloe to ice skating practice and is dazzled by her gorgeous performance. They order ice cream from Room Service in the middle of the night. She plays video games on his 50- inch TV screen. In a way, she is teaching him how to live. With Chloe, he is forced to react.

Sofia Coppola both directed and wrote “Somewhere.” Daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, she knows a thing or  two about Hollywood. Hers is a thoughtful film about the emptiness of celebrity. These themes were covered also in her “Lost in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette.”

Stephen Dorph inhabits Johnny Marco, acting in a very natural, minimalist way. Feelings barely register on his face. Elle Fanning is incandescent as the child who awakens the lost soul of her father. She and Stephen Dorph have terrific screen chemistry.

Nothing much happens in this film. It is filmed in the washed out but golden light of Los Angeles. The camera lingers on scenes much longer than movie viewers are accustomed to. “Somewhere” is a story about Hollywood, but by no means is it a Hollywood film. There is no action and no ‘big” scenes. The slow pace of this film will bore many moviegoers but this timing is intentional and reflects the ennui Johnny feels towards the world.

Incidentally “Somewhere”  won the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. It is an exquisite meditative story. If you want a traditional story with a well defined beginning, middle and end, see “True Grit,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Fighter” or many others.  “Somewhere” is completely different.