SOMEWHERE

Ma's View:

Yet another movie viewed at BIFF last year - we have nearly caught up on the blogs.  Pity there wasn't someone out there interested in reading them!

Unfortunately, I found it very hard to develop any empathy for the central character, film star Johnny Marco (played by Stephen Dorf) - probably because he played the vacuous movie star who had no clue of what really mattered in life only too well.  I guess that is the good point about the movie - it accurately reflects the lifestyle that can become "normal" for a celebrity, where he has whatever he wants in the way of girls, food, drink, car but has difficulty creating meaning out of his existence.  We see him in a routine of mindless activities - driving his car in circles, watching cutsy strippers in his room, partying, press conferences etc etc.  You get the feeling he is going through the motions in a make-believe world.  Then he is required to dig into the depths of himself and take on a real-life role - father - to his daughter, Cleo, who is put into his care by his ex-wife for an extended period.   Played by Elle Fanning with warmth and conviction, Cleo breathes meaning into his life and we see him slowly respond to her needs and begin to feel good about himself.

Director, Sofia Coppola has done a good job with the story but I still ended up thinking "who cares?"

My score:  6/10

Pepe's View:

I agree - I left the movie with exactly the same feeling, "Who Cares". The movie was well directed, well acted (especially the role of Cleo played by Elle Fanning), but "somewhere" it all went wrong and just didn't seem to connect with me.  The story is a little trite - film star hero with anything he wants suddenly realising that the only thing that can make meaning in his life is family in the guise of his daughter who is thrust upon him.  This sums up the whole movie - there is nothing more so it could have been told in 15 minutes without all the posturing.  I felt Stephen Dorf as Johnny Marco played the role of bored, disinterested star well but I didn't see much real change in his body language as the realisation of how to be really happy dawned.  He still seemed to me to be bored and largely disinterested in life.
A disappointing movie.

My Score:  5/10