'Somewhere' Movie Review

Will America’s Perspective of Hollywood Actors Change with Sofia Coppola’s New Movie?

‘Somewhere’ Aims to Prove that the Most Successful People Aren’t Always the Happiest


Written by: Karen Benardello


The public often feels that Hollywood actors have a charmed life after achieving unlimitless wealth and fame. But Sofia Coppola hopes to debunk these ill-conceived beliefs in her new directorial effort, the Focus Features drama ‘Somewhere,’ starring Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. The talented director hopes to prove with the small, low-budget film that everyone has doubts about their lives, and even the most successful people don’t always know how to deal with their new-found fame.

The core lessons presented in ‘Somewhere’ are similar to the themes presented in Coppola’s previous efforts, notably the main character facing challenges in their life and being forced to assume new responsibilities. The drama follows newly famous Hollywood actor Johnny Marco (played by Dorff), who has trouble adjusting to his new lifestyle. Despite living the high life at the Chateau Marmont hotel in L.A. and performing the numerous press obligations required for his new movie, he doesn’t seem content. Johnny deals with his loneliness by driving his Ferrari, drinking alcohol, taking pills and engaging in several sexual relationships with different women.

Johnny’s life drastically changes when his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo (portrayed by Fanning) shows up at his doorstep. Happy wallowing in his own pain, Johnny is reluctant to alter his ways when Cleo first arrives. However, after he discovers that her mother went away on vacation and has no immediate plans to return to their daughter, his entire prospective on life immediately changes.

While ‘Somewhere’ is similar to the overall themes presented in Coppola’s first three directorial efforts, including ‘The Virgin Suicides,’ ‘Lost in Translation’ and ‘Marie Antoinette,’ she deserves credit for attempting to slightly deviate from recycling all of their ideas. While her first three movies feature on feminine self-definition and maturation, Coppola easily transitions to instead focusing on a man’s seclusion and depression in ‘Somewhere.’ While Johnny doesn’t experience any major external conflicts because of his new fame and questioning of self-worth, as the movie has more of a character-based plot, Coppola is easily able to translate his lack of feeling of pleasure through her visual cues.

Hardly speaking for the beginning of the film, Dorff surprisingly worked with Coppola’s visual cues quite well. He was able to accurately portray Johnny’s fear of commitment through aimlessly driving his Ferrari throughout L.A., hiring strippers to perform for him in his hotel suite and looking surprised at Cleo’s hobbies and talents, including her love for ice skating and ballet.

Viewers will certainly begin to root for Johnny throughout the course of the movie, as he accepts, and ultimately enjoys, caring for Cleo and learning about her interests. The audience will also empathize with him as his self-esteem and worth start to improve after his ability to care for Cleo grows. However, the audience will eventually become claustrophobic in his hotel room, questioning why he can’t form meaningful relationships with his peers as well. While Coppola, who also wrote the film, didn’t have to completely change Johnny’s lifestyle and his thoughts about himself, as that would have defeated the whole purpose of the film, it would have been nice to see him make some kind of attempt to deal with his loneliness.

While ‘Somewhere’ isn’t Coppola’s most revolutionary work as a director, she does deserve credit for wanting to change her usual perspective of higher-class women questioning their place in society. With the help of a surprisingly well-cast Dorff, whose critics have described as a real-life Johnny in the past, the actor was finally able to prove his acting abilities. Even though ‘Somewhere’ has only received a limited theatrical release, the chemistry between Dorff and Fanning will surely resonate with audiences.