Somewhereis a brilliant hidden gem inSofia Coppola’s filmography that takes her right out of her comfort zone. The film follows the uneventful life of Jonny Marco, a movie star who withdraws to the popular Chateau Marmont hotel in LA for a life of easy pleasures. In between press conferences and post-production appointments, he finds comfort in his lazy routine until his daughter pays him a visit to take him out of his stupor.
Coppola comes from a family of talented filmmakers and movie stars, first rising to prominence withThe Virgin SuicidesandLost in Translation. Fashion, feminity, and loneliness are recurring themes in her creative vision, taking advantage of silent sequences and long takes to capture the feelings onscreen. WhileSomewhereremains faithful to Coppola’s most distinctive trademarks, it shows maturity in style and hints at one of the best versions of the director: that of a daughter.
How Sofia Coppola Reinvents Her Style In Somewhere
A goodportion of Coppola’s filmographyis interested in exploring the world of celebrities and their lavish lifestyles, either from a movie star’s point of view, such as inLost in Translation, or from the perspective of a parasital, fame-obsessed community, such as inThe Bling Ring. The former is an intimate portrayal of loneliness; Bill Murray’s character, a celebrity at the end of his career, tries desperately to look at the present with the same glow the past offers. But his world has grown silent, and still, the cameras flashing and the fans shouting for him are nowhere to be seen. On the other hand,The Bling Ringdelivers a satirized look at the busy Hollywood scene in the late-2000s transition into a new decade marked by the internet and viral phenomena.
And then there’sSomewhere, released three years beforeThe Bling Ring, which finds the perfect balance between these two approaches.Coppola once saidthat her movies “are not about being, but about becoming”, andSomewheremight be the perfect movie to illustrate that. In her other movies, there’s a clear path of change, a gradual variation in the characters' physiognomy and actions, for better or for worse. InSomewhere, the process of “becoming” is much more subtle, although it’s clearly connected with the presence of Cleo, Johnny’s daughter.
Related:Here’s Every Woman Who Has Been Nominated for the Best Director Oscar
The same passionate yet decadent excess that characters such as Kirsten Dunst as Marie Antoinette or Bill Murray’s character inLost in Translationhad, has a new meaning here. There’s no charm or eccentricity around the character of Marco, he passively accepts the prestige that fame offers him and, in exchange, robotically attends all the events and appointments the schedule of his new movie requires from him.
That’s the reason why some people find it so hard to appreciateSomewhere: Marco isn’t a bad person, but he rejects any clear attributes of a typical “good guy” by choosing to live in autopilot. When someone asks him for career advice, he uninterestingly mumbles a few ready-made words he probably used a thousand times before. Most importantly, when he finally gathers the courage to conciliate with his daughter by admitting his absence, his words are deliberately drowned out by the sound of the helicopter behind him. It’s only in the very final scene that the audience witnesses the process of “becoming” drawing to a close, with a clear sign that Marco’s indifference towards the world and himself has worn away.
Related:Sofia Coppola’s 10 Favorite Movies of All Time
The Beauty of Somewhere’s Unconventional Father-and-Daughter Relationship
Coppola is one of the most popular directors among women because she always provided audiences withdelightful insights into girlhoodand coming of age in a patriarchal society. InSomewhere, she seems particularly interested in Johnny’s masculine lifestyle: the film’s first half is full of repetitive house parties, strippers, and women running after him — Jonny seems desperate to get rid of this vicious cycle, yet not even a broken arm seems to push him out of his routine. He’s introduced as a character with little to no self-control as if all the women and the drinking are imposed on him by an exterior force. Coppola shies away from the distinguishable glamour of her style to craft Johnny Marco’s meticulously monotonous life, and a lot of that works due to Stephen Dorff’s talent to convey loneliness in such a claustrophobic fashion.
These scenes are important to the big narrative shift that comes with the arrival of Marco’s daughter, Cleo. She brings a charge of emotion and innocence to Marco’s life that immediately takes him off-guard. Suddenly, he starts to notice his surroundings and feels the urge to explore life outside his room. It’s only because of the power of the scenes he shares with Cleo that the same silence and emptiness from before becomes stronger when she’s gone. Initially, there was only indifference. Now, longing takes the reins. Coppola’s decision to humanize an absent father is tricky, but she triumphs in impressive character development. By the end, it becomes clear that Marco’s indifference trapped him in a vicious cycle that affected every aspect of his life: his career, his love interests, and his friends.
Additionally,Somewheremakes the audience questionwhat makes a bad father. Marco never treated Cleo badly or seemed annoyed by her presence, yet he never moved a finger to make her stay or feel welcomed. Similarly, her presence wasn’t enough to keep him away from his vices, bringing women over and succumbing to drinking while she was in the room next door. In a way, he indirectly used Cleo to fix himself, but will their estranged relationship change? The ambiguity of this unconventional father-and-daughter relationship leaves room for plenty of interpretation, and that’s when Coppola’s perspective as a daughter comes in. Cleo is the light of Marco’s life, and the glow she brings to his routine inspires him to reshape his habits entirely. But Cleo is gone, and she’s all alone with her worries and frustrations, stuck between two unreliable parents. While Marco comes to terms with his mistakes, it’s unlikely that he will make up for them, thus Cleo is left on her own to build her story.
