Somewhere

Movie: Somewhere

Cast:    Stephen Dorff       (Johnny Marco)

            Elle Fanning          (Cleo)

Genre: drama

I saw it on: January 9, 2011

Synopsis: Johnny Marco is a successful actor. He does not spend much time with his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo, who lives with her mother.  Johnny is something of a party animal who is primarily into having fun.  The movie opens with him recovering from a broken arm.  It seems that he is increasingly bored with his day to day life.  He even falls asleep while watching to pole dancers who are making a house call.

When Cleo’s mother decides she “needs to get away for a while”, Cleo has to move in with her father for a few weeks until summer camp.  Surprisingly, Johnny discovers that he really enjoys hanging out with his daughter.  He takes her with him to a PR visit to Rome, where they have a great time.  The movie follows their relationship while Johnny seems to be undergoing a change in what he wants in life.  Ultimately, he has to deliver Cleo to camp, at which point things come to a head when Johnny is faced with not having his daughter around.

My two cents: This is kind of a tough one.  When the credits started rolling, I had a WTF moment – I felt that nothing had been resolved and I still do not understand the closing scene. I walked out of the theatre very disgruntled.  Then I remembered that this was a Sofia Coppola movie and I started thinking about “Lost in Translation” – which I really loved.  I started to see the similarities between the two films.  I still have not quite figured out how to articulate the similarities. 

I really enjoyed watching Johnny discover that his daughter was really enjoyable to have around – and realize what he missed out on by being an absent parent.  One thing that puzzled me was the interior of his apartment.  It was in the Chateau Marmont which is apparently a very famous and elegant luxury hotel on Sunset Blvd.  Maybe I missed something, but the décor in his rooms did not look expensive – they looked like something from the 80’s.

Bottom line – this is definitely worth seeing.  Especially if you can figure out what that final scene means.  I look forward to seeing it again when it hits the small screen.  I suspect the second time around it is going to be even better.

 [10]