Somewhere

Dir. Sofia Coppola
Starring. Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning

I often find myself dismissing films that lack a compelling story. It's hard for me to enjoy great effects, visuals, or performances without that key fundamental piece, which these days is all too often overlooked. I was always told that a good story or script is the one key building block to a good film. But if that is the golden rule of filmmaking why did I so enjoy Somewhere, a film with hardly any plot at all?

Let me clarify that. There is a story, but it is exceptionally simple and minimal. It is the classic tale of a big time Hollywood star, Johnny Marco (played to perfection by Stephen Dorff), stuck in a cycle of meaningless relationships and partying, suffering from an existential crisis because of it. His daughter, Chloe (Elle Fanning) is placed in his care when her mother declares she must go away for an indefinite period of time and for a reason unknown. Johnny and Chloe's relationship plays out not in a dramatic coming of age tale or a sentimental yarn of life changing self realizations, but in a gradual and tender move towards closeness that occurs over a simple series of moments shared together.

The story is one we may have heard before, but it's never been told like this. A lifestyle which we are all inclined to believe to be fast paced and glamorous, is portrayed as anything but. It is mostly boring and stagnant and lonely; perfectly depicted in a scene in which Johnny has his whole head covered in white plaster to create a mould for some special effects make up. He sits alone while it sets, completely faceless and isolated. All we hear is his slow breathing. Scenes like this are so well observed; they are never cliche or contrived, but rather organic and personal and touching.

We love so many moments in Hollywood films because they are exciting and fantastic, but we will never actually experience them. In Somewhere, writer/director Sofia Coppola creates beautiful moments that we actually do experience showing us why we should love them but have somehow forgotten to because they are real. She breaks down not only the fantasy visage of the "celebrity" but also the fictional conventions of film by not adhering to them. This is just the story of a man's life: the ups and downs, the daily routine, the desperate need for human companionship.

And with this, Coppola has created a rare joy of a film that washes over you like a warm summer's day and stays with you as if it were your own personal memory of a special place and time. It is a film filled with charm and hope, despite the nature of the human condition. It might not be the most exciting film you see this year but what Somewhere lacks in plot, it more than makes up for in something else. Perhaps it's truth.

For this review and many more, try Britfilms.tv.