Film Reviews

Somewhere

• Rating:
• Director: Sofia Coppola
• Starring: Chris Pontius
• Details: US / 97mins (15A).

A good soundtrack can enhance the movie experience no end. What would that famous ghetto blaster scene in Say Anything be without Peter Gabriel? What would The Dollars Trilogy be without Ennio Morricone's score? Watching Somewhere, the new film from Sofia Coppola, it immediately becomes obvious what My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields brought to Coppola's cult hit Lost In Translation. It filled the gaps in the thin story, it set the mood, and it highlighted Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson's lonely isolation. In the absence of a great soundtrack (Phoenix's French pop doesn't have the same impact here), Somewhere lacks everything that made Lost In Translation so fascinating. Why bring up Lost In Translation? Isn't that a different movie altogether? Well, yes and no, as the first line of the synopsis will show.
Johnny Marco (Dorff) is an actor who is disconnected from his life and those around him and wiles away his days n his hotel. He's just finished his latest film (with Michelle Monaghan, who appears in one scene only) and lies around waiting for junket appearances. He drinks heavily, he smokes a lot, he plays Playstation with Chris Pontius (why he's in this is anyone's guess), he employs strippers to pole dance in his room, and he gets texts from random numbers telling him how much of an asshole he is. All that changes when his ex unloads his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Fanning) while she clears her head. Not used to having her around, Johnny is unsure what to do and decides to take her on a junket to Italy where they try and get to know each other a little better.
A flaky B-side to Lost In Translation, Somewhere doesn't have half the magic it's A-side has and that's down to the lack of drama. It would be something if Johnny and Cleo were at odds or had difficulty in understanding each other, but they get along quite nicely... And this is the only relationship in the whole movie. Coppola's indie sensibilities ensure she avoids the clichés and trappings a mainstream movie like this would dictate - father and daughter don't get on but will before the close - but in doing so the heart and climax one would expect from such a set up is missing. What's left is a series of long scenes depicting Johnny and Elle eating food, walking, sitting by the pool and playing Playstation. To say not a lot happens in Somewhere is a gross understatement.
Coppola has no problem with this, though: she spends nearly a third of the movie setting up Johnny's detachment (we first see him driving in circles in a desert for an eternity, then we see him watch twins pole dancing for another eternity, followed by more endless scenes of nothing) - economy of time is not the director's forte. A personal film this may be, but its loose narrative leaves one frustrated.

Review by Gavin Burke