'Somewhere'

'Somewhere' (R) (3 1/2 stars)

Writer and Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Ellie Kemper

Sofia Coppola has that quality a lot of film makers don't have. She can take two characters and just let them be in the moment. She would be welcomed with open arms in France where this kind of style is appreciated. With most Hollywood movies being talky, loud and obnoxious Coppola is not afraid to let calm and quiet take over. This is a movie of very few words but it's power and beauty lies in it's quiet moments. Not many American film makers, except for maybe Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Sunset), would let the few words and beautiful images take over. Coppola knows that to get her point of view off she doesn't have to be stuffing the movie with dialogue and dramatic plot developments. "Somewhere" is simply about Hollywood action movie star Johnny Marco who spends most of his time inhabiting the infamous Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. In a very amusing sequence of scenes we first see Johnny being entertained by twin strippers who bring their own poles to pole dance. I love how the girls come off like they were choreographed by a professional dancer, every move they make is perfectly detailed. Then I laughed as we see them leaving and folding up their poles. Johnny doesn't do much besides sleep and have a lot of sex with pretty much any woman that says hello to him in the hotel. Then we see his daughter Cleo arrive, dropped off by her mother who disappears a lot. That is pretty much the jumping off point as we see Johnny and Cleo spend time together.

Johnny doesn't have many responsibilities and we are surprised that he would have a daughter, maybe he had her with a woman he was not married to or involved with. We can see he loves his daughter and Elle Fanning is perfect here as his daughter Cleo. She has a great smile, quietly inhabits her role and shows a sweetness and vulnerability. Johnny is played by Stephen Dorff who I have always liked but here gives the best performance of his career and one of the best of this year. Johnny seems bored with his life but when Cleo arrives there is a sparkle in his eye and a rejuvenated feeling. He plays "Guitar Hero" with her, plays cards, she cooks for him and tags along with him to a movie premiere in Italy of one of his action pictures. Cleo also finds out that you can pretty much order anything from the hotel and it is delivered right away. Johnny loves spending time with Cleo because she doesn't ask for much. When Johnny takes Cleo to her ice skating practice Johnny and the audience realize that he doesn't know a lot about his daughter and hasn't spent much time with her.

The movie moves along slowly and there are many scenes I love where we just see the two hang out. There is a nice, leisurely quality to the scenes and if you are looking for some deep meaning this is not the movie for you. You have to be patient and by the end I was surprised about how deeply this movie touched me. There is something unsaid between the two at first and it comes out near the end. There are some feelings that are let go by Cleo and we find out that the father and daughter don't know each other that well. They have spent a lot of time together and it is quality time but they realize this wonderful time they have had of bonding won't get duplicated many times. This movie has a beauty to it that is hard to explain. All I know is while watching it unfold the movie quietly but surely grabs you and makes you feel something about these two. Sofia Coppola takes her time letting the movie work it's magic and she has such a great command of the screen. I also love her female point of view because the movie carefully makes Cleo a character with deep hurt that she hides pretty well. She also writes the Johnny character well and like "Lost in Translation" we see that Johnny lives in a world of isolation and it is powerful. I can very much identify with his character but I can also feel Cleo's brief joy and then finally pain and her own isolation. You can also see a lot of what Sofia's life must have been like with her famous father through this story and the Cleo character.

With the outstanding "Virgin Diaries", one of the most under rated movies of the last decade, and "Lost In Translation" and now this Sofia Coppola has become one of my favorite writer/directors. She doesn't waste any shots, is careful not to lose us by making her story simple and she is awesome with female actors. She joins my list of David Fincher and Quentin Tarantino as my "Snavely New Wave Auteur's" and I will be adding more to the list. She is one of our brightest and best young film makers and I can't wait to see more of her movies. I know that many hated "Marie Antoinette" and everyone is entitled to one mistake though I admired "Marie Antoinette". I now know that every time Sofia makes a movie I can count on it it to be at least fascinating. Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning give great and very subtle and powerful performances. I also love the music score done by the great french pop group "Phoenix". I haven't heard this wonderful of a movie score created by a pop group since "Tangerine Dream" scored "Risky Business" and "Thief". There is also a beautiful and catchy song by "Phoenix" that blends in the movie flawlessly. With "Somewhere" Sofia Coppola proves she is here to stay and again she has made one of the best movies of the year.