Somewhere

Somewhere is a very Sofia Coppola film and whether or not you will warm to it might well depend on how you generally take to her work. After the critical lashing for Marie-Antoinette, she returns to territory more familiar from Lost in Translation. Stephen Dorff is movie-star Johnny Marco, living out of a hotel and drifting along until he is forced to look after his 11 year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) for a while.

It is actually a hard movie to love, but in its own rather challenging way, will stay with you. The themes are not new to Coppola, even if the Hollywood setting is, and there are echoes of Lost in Translation in Dorff's isolation and alienation (notice the way that at times the camera won't keep hom shot) with his various encounters with the women who throw themselves at him only serve to highlight his ultimate lack of connection. Cleo thus represents his best shot at redemption. Their relationship is subtly drawn by Coppola, without major drama or histionics, aided by a couple of reallt strong performances. The ending is ambiguous to say the least and will probably infuriate many.

Overall - 7/10 Its an intelligent and slightly challenging film, but that's no bad thing.