Here’s A.O. Scott in the Times, reviewing Sofia Coppola’s latest:
What happens is something marvelous: a film that never raises its voice (its loudest and most assertive sound is that Ferrari) or panders to your emotions, but that nonetheless has the power to refresh your perceptions and deepen your sympathies. As it proceeds from one careful, watchful, slow shot to the next, a sad and affecting story emerges, about a father’s loneliness and a daughter’s devotion. But the experience of watching “Somewhere,” shot in lovely tones of Southern California haze by the great Harris Savides, is like reading a poem. The scenes play off one another like stanzas, producing patterns and echoes that feel like the camera’s accidental discoveries, even as they are the surest evidence of Ms. Coppola’s formidable and subtle art.
I wanted to like it, but it didn't work for me. Dorff's character is just too vacuous. I would have more enjoyed a movie about Elle Fanning's character.
1) I was afraid of that.
I have to say the buzz I've heard on this film has been surprising, the trailer looked horrific.
Just dreadful.
The Times also loved Lost in Translation, which I found unwatchable.
4) I didn't love "Lost in Translation," but some people are crazy for it, including my wife. It just made a real emotional connection with a lot of people. I wasn't one of them but I'm always curious how movies, books, works of art, somehow really touch people. I kind of felt that way about "McCabe and Mrs Miller" a lil bit.
I loved "Lost in Translation." "Somewhere" is not that.
[5] Meaning McCabe touched that nerve in you, or you felt about it the same way you did Lost in Translation?