Somewhere

I just saw Sofia Coppola’s new movie: Somewhere. I’ve been excited about seeing this movie because Lost In Translation is one of my favorite movies. The movie is very similar to Lost In translation because it follows the daily life of a fictional celebrity who is dealing with increasing isolation and loss of identity within the shallow, image-obsessed world of celebrity culture. As with Sofia Coppola’s other films, there is very little dialogue and a feeling of emptiness, created by long takes and very little use of non-diegetic sound.

The movie begins with an extremely long take of a car driving around in circles. This is most likely a metaphor for the repetitive cycle of Johnny Marco’s life, which is a feeling I think most people share within postmodern life. In another scene, we see Johnny lying in bed as he is being entertained by two almost identical-looking pole-dancers. It’s almost like we’re seeing a simultaneous reproduction of the image of male fantasy, which has been reified by our media-obsessed society.

There are several instances where the depthlessness associated with postmodernity is portrayed. One specific example is a press conference, where Johnny Marco is at a press-junket to promote his new movie. One of the reporters says that he is a Russian writer who is doing a book about the lives of Hollywood celebrities. Immediately after this, another reporter asks something like: “Your film seems to accent postmodern globalism,” at which point Johnny has a bewildered look on his face and asks her to repeat the question.

Throughout the movie, the interactions that he has with the people around him (excluding his family) seem to involve people commenting on the way he looks. His private assistant constantly tells him that he “looks great,” even though he usually is hungover and unshaven. This helps to emphasize the depthlessness of the image-obsessed celebrity culture that surrounds him.

Driving is another theme that is emphasized throughout the movie. Every time he has to go somewhere, he is shown either driving or being driven to that place. These scenes almost always have no sound, except for the sounds coming from the engine, or no sound at all. This emphasizes the emptiness and isolation caused by the postmodern space in which we all live.

The film makes several references to cell phones and the way that our “communication technology” is making us even more isolated. Of course, there are many other examples of postmodernism within this movie, however, I feel like I’m starting to ramble, and I don’t want to ruin the movie for anybody.  I really liked it, and I definitely suggest that anybody who likes Sofia Coppola’s films should go see it.