'Somewhere'

All i can say about Somewhere is that Sofia coppola is a genius. This film and indeed all her others represent the world in a beautiful way, no matter how painful it really is.

Somewhere her forth feature seems to be a more personal piece, lacking in any real narrative but allowing the audience to swim in the stunning visuals she gives to them. Coppola has a knack for being able to set up seemingly ordinary, everyday scenes, and turns them into a work of art. She takes a world as heartless and cruel as the Los Angeles celebrity vacuum and depicts it as sort of fairytale wonderland. Often heartwernching, the winner of the 2010 Best Picture award at the Venice Film Festival, is more visual than narrative. The first 10 or more minutes of the film is noticeably without dialogue and you instantly relate to the protagonists isolation from his surroundings and indeed himself. Stephen Dorff has been away from the screen for a few years, not exactly sure where he went but he play's Jonny Marco, an 'It' actor living at the Chateau Marmont a place synonymous with Hollywood debauchery. Jonny is surrounded by everybodys and nobodies and doesn't' really seem to care about anything. The only real depth you see from him is through his daughter Cleo played superbly by Elle Fanning (the girl is ridiculously beautiful at just 11 years old). Even then you see a distance between them due to circumstance and the world they live in. Though their journey throughout the film is playful and heartfelt in some ways, there is huge void between them that Coppola tries to close but which you know will remain open.

Sophia has a way of being able to make any environment look inviting, even LA and though there are shots of endless highways (perhaps a reflection of the main character) the lush green vistas and incredibly decadent lifestyle definitely makes you envious. To say what the film is 'about' would be quite hard as it isn't really about anything, it's more of a reflection of a life which perhaps the film maker herself can relate to. There is slight catharsis at the end of the film however you do leave the cinema with the longing felt throughout.

The film is beautiful and it's nice to be able to sit and appreciate Coppola's aesthetic for a few hours. My favourite scene involves a fun day out between Jonny and Cleo. They swim and eat and shop and in one instance they pat a little puppy to a backing track of Julian Casablancas' 'I'll try anything once". Seriously, there is nothing better than that!