Somewhere - C

In theaters. Rated R, 98 minutes. Trailer.

This one is really, and I mean really, boring. This is a "mood film" about a hollywood star named Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) and his vacuous celebrity existence and its interruption by a brief stint spending time with his 11 year old. Written and directed by the hit or miss Sofia Coppola, this one works every once in a while, but mostly is just an overly boring series of set pieces.

The film takes place almost exclusively at Chateau Marmont, the legendary Hollywood mansion that has served as the hotel to the stars for decades. Coppola herself is said to have spent much of her youth hanging out there. The film opens with 5 minutes worth of Marco driving in a loop in the desert, and then we get into a series of scenes showing Marco as a celebrity living as a recluse and bored with the decadence that comes with his station in life. These scenes (the erotic dancing twins) go on too long, although some (the party in his room) are somewhat effective. His daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) gets dropped off to stay with him for awhile because her mom "needs some time off". The positive experience of actually connecting with a human makes him realize that he "is nothing" and he has an existential realization/crisis.

That description and the trailer makes the film sound really good (at least to me). But this really is like watching paint dry, and I like moody movies without much plot. Coppola seems to be really pleased with the concept of an overly long linger on a marginally interesting shot. There are some decent visuals in the film, and some dry humor (constant "you're an asshole" texts on Johnny's phone). Oddly, Jackass star Chris Pontius is in the film and provides a little bit of much needed humor.

Decent soundtrack from Phoenix. Skip it.