The Director treads the familiar ground of celebrity, but rather than an actor past his prime, (Bill Murray in Lost in Translation), the protagonist in Somewhere, Dorff, plays a successful, global movie star, Johnny Marco, despite which whose life seems to be more mundane than glamorous.
The opening scene of the film, in what is clearly a metaphor for his life, shows Marco driving in circles at the wheel of his top of the range Ferrari. Going nowhere, over and over. Scenes throughout the film replicate this slow, studious pace as Marco leads his life between filming.
Half way through, his 11 year old daughter, Cleo, played by Elle Fanning, joins him, after her mother leaves town. The intimate portrait of father and daughter is every part interesting and warming, as it is slightly awkward. But it seems to help Marco come to some kind of realisation - that he has to actively change his lifestyle. Leave it all behind.
It's a subtle, well realised film, highlighting the banality of a high profile lifestyle, but also the special bond between father & daughter. Coppola uses clever devices of repetition throughout - from the crackling of burning ash on each cigarette draw, to the dulling, roar of the Ferrari engine. Every thing is the same. It doesn't make for an action packed film, but a rewarding one, particularly in the closing scenes.
