A common criticism of Sofia Coppola's films is this: Nothing really happens. I would argue the opposite: Everything happens.
Sure, she's an acquired taste, but Ms. Coppola has a knack for the little details that, while seemingly insignificant, add up to a lot. And in each Sofia Coppola movie, there's a few seconds that positively bang. "Lost in Translation" had an indecipherable whisper, "The Virgin Suicides" a young teen schooling a doctor, "Marie Antoinette" a moment of door-slamming angst set to a Strokes song. In "Somewhere," the bang comes with a daughter's tentative but elated two words: "Hi, Dad."
Delivered flawlessly by Elle Fanning after her character, Cleo, draws a heart on the plaster cast sported by her action-star father (Stephen Dorff), this simple sentence speaks volumes. Cleo is a good girl. When sprung on her dad for two weeks by a possibly suicidal mother, Cleo doesn't throw a tantrum. She gamely tags along on a press tour to Italy, Sudoku puzzle book in tow. She orders supplies from the Chateau Marmont staff to whip up macaroni and Eggs Benedict. When faced with Dad's one-night stand the next morning, she is quiet but polite. When she cries, just once, you get a sense she's still holding back.
Throughout "Somewhere," I worried for Cleo.
Just as you wonder about the bratty kids you see in public, the too-perfect children are equally confounding. Cleo appears to love her flawed father unconditionally, but how long will that last? Is her gentle nature an inherent character trait or the product of a childhood with two parents who are each unstable in their own way? Will puberty cause her to snap or retreat further into the protective shell she's created for herself?
Don't think I'm ignoring Dorff here. His performance is excellent, and his Johnny is sympathetic and likable despite his often brain-dead behavior. And it's true, Johnny is really "Somewhere's" main character.
But what the film does best is make the audience root for Johnny's daughter. As her dad screwed up over and over, I wanted to hug the little girl and tell her everything was going to be all right. And I wanted that to be true.
The DVD contains a single featurette on the making of the film.
Film: 4.5 Yaps Extras: 2 Yaps