The first time I watched Somewhere, I wasn't sure about it. The biggest problem I had with Sophia Coppola's newest film was that I never felt as emotionally invested in Johnny's character as I should have been. I wish the script had given us a few more climatic moments earlier in the film to help elaborate Johnny's emotional anguish from more than just a visual standpoint, but from a character standpoint. What I found is that days later I was still thinking about the film, leading me to realize that it had totally engrossed me. Somewhere tells the story of Johnny (Stephen Dorff), a movie star who seems to be on top of the world. His life is planned out for him, from his press junkets, to his meetings; All he ever has to do is just show up. Johnny's life is empty. Sure, he has lots of superficial connections with beautiful women, and he can pretty much afford anything he wants, but he lacks real emotional connection. The one exception to this rule would be his daughter, Clarie. Claire stays with Johnny occasionally when her mother cant take care of her, and they have a good relationship although it is assumed that they don't see each other as much as they should. The film chronicles Johnny's life over the course of a few days, as we see this lifestyle unfold. The visual design is very well done, using mostly static shots to convey Johnny's feelings of emptiness. Its a very interesting dissection into celebrity and how even though to the average person they seem to have everything, this entitlement can be more of a prison. I wasn't a hug fan of how Johnny's emotional moment of understanding comes a little too late in the film for my liking, not giving enough time at the end of the film to establish this moment of change. I understand it's a choice, but I don't think it was set up the right way to achieve the moment it wanted. That being said, Somewhere is still an engaging character study about a man who feels trapped even though he as the world. Perhaps the opening shot of this film best sums up what Sophia Coppola's Somewhere is all about. A long static shot of a Ferrari going around a race track, over and over again. A rather brilliant choice, as to symbolize our protagonists life going nowhere. 8.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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