Somewhere

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Some films have complex characters that over the course of the twists and turns of a plot grow and change. Other films still have character arcs but they are just smaller in scale. And some films are just a series of events one after the other. This film is somewhere in between the last two.

I know character studies aren't really my cup of tea, but some films do them so well with such interesting characters. This film is drearily slow paced and hard to engage with. I know Sofia Coppola can do these types of films and do them well. I love Marie Antoinette, I liked The Virgin Suicides thought Lost in Translation was ok too. Somewhere has less plot and character than Lost in Translation. It feels like we are just watching Stephen Dorff sleep and drive places. I like Stephen Dorff usually. He just didn't have anything to do here.

It's not all horrible. Elle Fanning is wonderfully natural as his daughter, the most important relationship in the film. And she ice-skates. Who knew? The delightful Ellie Kemper from the later season of U.S. The Office shows up as a P.R. rep and is the best thing in the film for all of 2 minutes.

At the end of the film, SPOILER ALERT I guess, Dorff confesses he doesn't feel like a real person. Here's the problem. Sofia Coppola succeeds greatly in portraying a person who is drifting through life and has no idea who he is. Unfortunately I find that subject and character very boring to watch for an hour and a half. The very end of the film is just frustrating. The character walks off into the sunset with a smile, presumably he's learnt something although I don't know what or how. Watching a close up of his face for 10 minutes doesn't mean we can get inside his head and connect to him.

This film feels like all the deleted in between scenes from a film that was about actually something. I know this subject and relationship was probably quite personal to Sofia Coppola she didn't manage to convey that to me.