On the Trappings of Luxury in Somewhere

Sofia Coppola is a child of opulence and her four feature films have in some way reflected the lives of people that want for nothing and therefore could all be partly biographical. In fact Coppola has claimed that Somewhere, her fourth feature, is partly based on experiences of her childhood, living in hotels and being surrounded by the fantasy of the film industry. Somewhere follows Johnny Marco, a famous Hollywood actor who is in between jobs. Johnny’s 11 year old daughter pays an unexpected extended visit that slightly changes the way Johnny would live, but not by any great degree. Otherwise, what we get in Somewhere is a glimpse of the day to day life of an famous out of work actor. The mundane (breaking down in the car) to the exciting (have a head mould taken).

Somewhere is a patchy film. It is at times effortless, eluding an almost documentary like realism and naturalism in the acting. This is thanks to Coppola’s still camera which lets us watch, sometimes too long, without any interference. These effortless scenes occur most often when Johnny’s daughter takes centre stage. Elsewhere Somewhere feels too forced; Johnny falling asleep while sleeping with a girl; Johnny sat, silently, drinking beer or racing his sports car for several minutes. We know we are meant to feel sympathy for Johnny’s existential concerns, but the problem is it is very difficult to feel sympathy or empathy for a character that has more than his fair share of luxuries. This is a problem which dogs the whole film and has dogged all films that attempt to show us the difficulties of celebrity. So, when Johnny breaks down and cries to his ex-wife that he is a shell of a man, we understand the meaning and know what Coppola wants us to feel, but cannot help feeling that this is just the melodramatic whining of an actor.

This is an unfortunate thing to feel because there is no sense in it. Celebrities, regardless of how much money they have and how much luxury they are exposed to, are perfectly entitled to suffer emotionally and mentally. The struggle is communicating this in a relatable way. Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard (1950) achieves this, but then Norma Desmond was a film star who had already faded. Johnny Marco is at the peak of his fame. Somewhere, a beautifully shot and acted film, cannot quite reach the levels of significance it strives for as it just can’t shake the fact that the opulence, in this case, is not a trap, but a blessing.