Somewhere (2010)

Somewhere (2010) might strike some as dull and repetitive… The first scene of the movie clearly points that out, but for me it has a lot of depth and offers an interesting insight on the life of a Hollywood star while he tries to figure out something more to his own existence.

Stephen Dorff’s character is emotionally deprived and lives in isolation most of his days. You could assume that he has access to everything money can buy, living a bohemian life and spending his time at the Chateau Marmont, one of Hollywood's most well known escape points. But all seems pointless if you don’t find passion in what you do or if you don’t have any love in your surroundings. Without those, Johnny Marco is lost… and he seems just fine with it. He looks to have settled with that idea and shows no desire to struggle and give his life any purpose or meaning. All and all, that comes to change when he is required to take care of his daughter, after her mother decided to run off. This represents a big emotional challenge for Johnny. Something that opens new gates for him, as he changes his perception on life and discovers there’s more things to it, than fame and success.

Dorff is an excellent choice for the role and I’m glad to see him involved in interesting projects under good directors. His chemistry with Elle Fanning (playing his young daughter) is all over the movie, giving a genuine (or so it seems) look at the ups and downs of a Hollywood career and the consequences it might bring your way.

To be honest, the film didn’t stroke much of an impact right away, but after thinking and researching about it, some very interesting points came clear and brought a whole different light into Sofia’s vision. But truth be told, even though I enjoyed the movie, I had higher expectations. I remember watching the trailer for the first time and even posting in on my blog, praising Sofia Coppola as a wonderful director/screenwriter and stating that Dorff is an underestimated actor. Oh and I also took notice of the soundtrack that makes presence in the trailer, opening with Phoenix and closing with The Strokes (I'll Try Anything Once seems like it was written on purpose for the film). In fact, talking about soundtrack, that was left to the capable hands of Phoenix to be done. It’s good with plenty of tracks from their last project Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009), one of my favourite albums!

Nonetheless, I've enjoyed quite a lot the acting, the writing, the visual aspect of it all in which you could see the attention to detail!