Somewhere

Finally saw Sophia Coppola's latest the other night with my old lady. We were two of only like fifteen people in the the theater, which is always nice. I don't know what I expected from Somewhere, but I was surprised by how much I got out of it. The film's overall feel is much more similar to Lost in Translation, than her other films. In fact, I'd say the feel and the atmosphere is identical. You catch yourself in a perpetual state of self-reflexive existentialism while watching this one; and as you sit there waiting for something big to happen, letting your thoughts float down some path, it never happens--and I like that. Sometimes thats the way life goes.

I really appreciated Coppola's subtle feminist approach; I say subtle, but the film is actually laced with constant imagery and stereotypes that over sexualize and degrade women. So, how is that feminist? The film masterfully represents how draining, negative, and even, pathetic these images of women are. There is even one scene where Elle Fanning is being watched by her father as she ice skates. The scene is quite long and covers the duration of the entire Gwen Stefani song, "Cool." The scene also follows two lengthy pole dancer scenes. The parallels are expressly there. It bums you out, and shames you in behalf of this poor father who can't quite yet seem to make those parallels himself.