Somewhere

Hello friends. It is currently 2:26 a.m. I’m starving. Part of me wants to sneak downstairs and make instant noodles, but the other part is reminding me that I have to work tomorrow and also, that’s really unhealthy.

But anyways, I come to you this night, or morning, I guess, with a movie review. Yes, I like movies. I actually like them a lot. I’m no film critic, but I’ve seen an adequate amount of more obscure (hipster, essentially, even though I hate that trite word with a fiery passion) Wes Anderson and Coen brothers films. Basically, I like to watch artsy fartsy movies that I can find on Netflix, and ergo, I’d consider my self a film buff, in the least pompous way possible, of course.

About five minutes ago, I just finished watching “Somewhere” by Sofia Coppola.

Ah, Sofia, you’ve done it again.

Somewhere is one of those “you-either-hate-it,” or “you-love-it” kinda films; I’ll get more into that later. The central themes of loneliness and isolation make this movie not only relatable, but insightful. I mean what more would you expect of her. Lost in Translation, which is one my favorite Coppola- nay, one of my all time favorite- movies is quite similar to this one. The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides also come into mind while watching the film. There’s just that realness behind each character. You develop relationships and mixed feelings and empathy and aggghh I can’t explain it, I need food. But if you’ve seen any of Sofia’s movies, you know what I’m talking about. Wow did that not just sound extremely pretentious or what. Idk, man.

I’m not gonna give you a synopsis of the movie; you can find it online anywhere, and it’s on Netflix, so it’s extremely accessible. But I did really enjoy the film. It was real, so real that many people call it autobiographical. Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning are the main characters. A brief rundown, according to IMDb aka my bible:

“After withdrawing to the Chateau Marmont, a passionless Hollywood actor (Dorff) reexamines his life when his eleven-year-old daughter (Fanning) surprises him with a visit.”

Again, if you liked Lost in Translation, you’ll most likely like this. It’s not quite as good, but it’s good.

Fanning and Dorff’s relationship is unreal. It’s amazing. It’s so raw and makes you physically smile at how cute they are. It is definitely the film’s strongpoint. Also, Elle Fanning was beautiful. The plot is quite slow, as are many of her movies and you know, just really deep indie flicks in general. I will admit that there isn’t even much of a plot; it’s anti-climatic. But not in a bad way. You just need to see it.

Another major strength of Somewhere is the cinematography. Oh, God. I can’t even begin to explain the cinematography. It’s stunning. The angles and the lighting are very, very on point. It really does facilitate the narrating of the plot. Without the cinematography, this movie would honestly probably be crap. The setting takes place in sunny L.A., primarily in this gorgeous vintage hotel called the Chateau Marmont, which I would dream to spend a night in. The ambience is incredible.

The soundtrack is outstanding. The songs are perfect, and they play at the perfect moments. You’ve got Phoenix, and The Strokes, and more. Words cannot explain how much I love the music in this movie.

Please do yourself a favor and see this film. It’s only an hour and a half and it’s on Netflix. And it’s not half-bad.

And so I end this rambl-y post at 3:00 a.m. Still hungry.

xx

Isabelle