Somewhere - written and directed by Sofia Coppola

vcassel

vcassel

Veteran
Such a study in understated subtlety, long takes, and awkwardness I almost thought I was watching a Dogme 95 film. I was getting a bit fatigued by it before the second act, but the father/daughter dynamics began to thaw Stephen Dorff's Johnny Marco. This is as simple a film as you can make if you happen to be Sofia Coppola and have the money and clout to film in Hollywood's infamous Chateau Marmot and take a brief tangent to Italy. I give it a 3 out of 4.
 
Yeah I quite enjoyed it. The first couple of scenes had me saying WTF? A car looping around for 2 minutes, then strippers spinning around for another 2. However, I soon got into the slow pace, it emphasized the emptiness of his life. The performances were very good, was that Dakota's little sister?

Sophia seems to be repeating herself somewhat with a movie actor in a hotel ala LOST IN TRANSLATION (which I thought was a better movie), so I hope she has a few more ideas as she's an interesting director.

I'd give it 2 and a half out of four.
 
Whenever I think of this movie, all I think of is when Daniel Tosh said "I’ve never been raped, but I have seen the movie Somewhere by Sofia Coppola and I’m pretty sure the experience is equally horrific."

I've never actually seen it, so I have nothing of substance to report.
 
WildTrackDave said:
Whenever I think of this movie, all I think of is when Daniel Tosh said "I’ve never been raped, but I have seen the movie Somewhere by Sofia Coppola and I’m pretty sure the experience is equally horrific."

I've never actually seen it, so I have nothing of substance to report.
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LOL I can certainly understand why people don't like it, but that's taking it a bit far!
 
Jawa Ex Machina said:
Haven't seen it, but Lost in Translation wasn't my cup of joe, even though I watched it in a theater on 35mm.
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Can certainly understand that, they're both slow paced. I'm early thirties with a couple of little ones, and I've noticed in the last few years I've been getting more into character driven dramas and away from action and horror movies which I used to love. I'm sure I wouldn't have liked SOMEWHERE when I was 25. Wonder what I'll be watching at 50!
 
I'd like to see it, I saw the trailer on Zoetrope. I expect it to be slow - that's the style of Lost in Translation.

Funny story - one of my screenwriting profs said he was watching Lost in Translation, and thought his DVD player froze on him. By the time he got up and went to it, though, one of the characters started moving. Apparently to him, it was THAT slow!
 
ASchear said:
I'd like to see it, I saw the trailer on Zoetrope. I expect it to be slow - that's the style of Lost in Translation.
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It is slow, but it's appropriate as a subtle and understated character study. Personally, I found it refreshing in comparison to the hyper-kinetic editing and always traveling camera work of the majority of modern films. I consider this film a 'must view' for filmmakers wishing to better understand mise en scene.
 
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