Review of Somewhere (2010) by Stevenf — 24 Aug 2013

Stephen Dorff cuts a lonely and passive individual in 'Somewhere', playing an actor called Johnny Marco, a successful man in the business, but ten minutes into the film we realise the recluse and empty life that Johnny leads, pole dance after pole dance, party after party, he never seems to be mentally present in any of these situations to the point where it's noticeable that he finds nothing fulfilling or satisfying, something no amount of money, sex or drugs can fix. The only vice for his seemingly empty life is his eleven year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning), who is in adversary left in the care of her father. Here we see the true talents of writer and director Sofia Coppola in full swing, she creates characters who instantly command your attention and who are full of intrigue, it's easy to get the impression that Cleo is aware of her fathers lifestyle, but loves him all the same, Johnny is a man who doesn't seem ungrateful for his life and success, but one who simply doesn't get the fulfilment that others would in the same field. He stays indefinitely at the popular Chateau Marmont, a place for the Hollywood bigwigs attempting to hideaway from the world.

The intriguing elements of the film come from the character of Johnny, his routine life of answering the phone and doing as his agent tells him, talk to the press, pick up awards and have his face moulded, a scene which truly outlines this mans feelings, he sits in silence while the mould dries and breathes heavily, we don't need to see his face to know what is going on in his head.

The film doesn't necessarily have a beginning, middle and end flow, it's told a sort of day in the life of scenario where we sit back and observe a lifestyle that is endless, but one devoid of anything meaningful, the only vice being blood.

The title pertains to everything that we witness throughout the film, a man in between lifestyles, personalities and mental stability, he isn't anywhere concrete, therefore he is somewhere in between it all.

Sofia Coppola has an intriguing and elegant style of filming, she puts on screen exactly what see wants us to see, and like her other masterful 'Lost In Translation', we have a similar character in Stephen Dorff to to Bill Murray, a man with everything but also cut away from life and letting it all pass him by.

An excellent film that studies the meaning of family, personality, depression but mainly the need of human interaction and meaningful relationships, through the simplest of actions and time spent together.