Yes, No, Maybe So: Somewhere

The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette. Second generation auteur Sofia Coppola hasn't failed us yet. Her perceptive ethereal films about delicate girls with faraway looks in their eyes are stunning to behold and deeply felt, too. Here's the trailer to her fourth film Somewhere (2010).

This is one of those cases where I need to water down my expectations lest I wet myself. I love her movies. So I'll divvy it up as to what makes me most excited (yes), most worried (no), and somewhere in between (maybe so) for the appropriate "I Shan't Be Controlled By Marketing" balance.

yes
Coppola understands how to convey both unexpected intimacies (Bob & Charlotte in Lost in Translation) and painful estrangements (usually familial but sometimes spousal as seen in Suicides and Marie-Antoinette) which should serve her tremendously well in the telling of this story of actor/father (Stephen Dorff) and tween daughter (Elle Fanning) who suddenly comes to live with him at the Chateau Marmont. Coppola's films obviously use her own life as inspiration and she knows from being the daughter of a famous showbiz person, as we all know. The shot of the underwater tea party is unexpected, charming and gives me great hope that this will be variable in mood and so specific that it will read universal.

no

On the other hand, who can relate to leisurely wealth and scads of downtime? There's so many shots of actor and daughter lounging, sleeping or barely mobile in their luxury environment. Now, I don't have the same problem as some viewers do with Coppola's hermetically sealed worlds and their wealthy almost slothful protagonists. After all, nobody complains when male auteurs make movies about the same male character types each time yet Sofia catches heat for her continual emphasis on upscale lost girls. Double standard! So, I hope she makes dozens more features about whatever the hell she wants. But, since this looks to be the closest to her own experience of all of the films, given the subject matter and movie industry backdrop, it could bring out excessive navel gazing. Sometimes it's just a navel no matter how hard you look. Showbiz played into Lost in Translation, too, but it did so in a more offscreen way.

maybe so

We know that Sofia Coppola is a natural in the director's chair and that cinematographer Harris Savides, one of the best in the biz, will help her provide beautiful vivid imagery. But whether or not Somewhere touches viewers in any substantial way will depend greatly on the father/daughter chemistry of Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning. We won't know if that's poor, adequate or sensational until we're actually watching the movie. There are some things you can never learn from a trailer.

Are you a "yes, no or maybe so?"

Care to make any Oscar guesses? The movie is currently set for release on December 22nd, which blows. You'll have to try not to be jealous of the hazy downtime of Dorff and Fanning while you're at maximum stress levels during the holiday rush and the prestige movie glut. Hopefully they'll move this to the usual Sofia spot in the early fall.