As the film opens a black Ferrari circles on a race track in the desert, its engine roaring in and out of the shot. When it eventually stops, Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) steps out. Marco is a Hollywood actor who, despite his recent rise to fame, does not feel much meaning in his daily life.
He resides at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles from where he completes various publicity obligations for his new film: he is photographed with his co-star (Michelle Monaghan), gives interviews to the press, and attends an award ceremony in Italy. Despite drinking and socializing occasionally with Sammy (Chris Pontius), a fellow actor and childhood friend, Marco spends much time alone, driving his Ferrari motorcar, drinking beer, taking pills, and having casual sex with various women. Twice he has pole-dancing twins (Kristina and Karissa Shannon) set up their equipment and perform in his room, the first time he falls asleep and the second routine is more calisthenic than erotic.
He receives an unexpected visit from his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo (Elle Fanning). Her stay changes his lifestyle little at first, including his indulging an overnight visitor, a blonde woman. Johnny and his daughter spend time together in his hotel suite and he brings her with him on his daily routine and on a publicity trip to Milan (where he is awarded with a “Telegatto”, in a show with local celebrities playing themselves), and through preparations for her departure to summer camp.
As their time together grows, Johnny’s fatherly emotions emerge and force him to re-assess his otherwise “successful” life. After Cleo leaves for camp Johnny calls his ex-wife and tearfully breaks down admitting his unhappiness at his empty life. His ex-wife is indifferent to his pain and declines his request to come see him. At the end, Johnny checks out of the hotel promising not to return, and drives his Ferrari into the countryside. He randomly stops and gets out, leaving the keys in the ignition, and walks down the highway smiling.
Somewhere premiered at the 67th Venice International Film Festival where it received the Golden Lion award for best picture. Critical opinion was mildly positive. Reviewers praised the patience of the film’s visual style and its empathy for a handful of characters, but some found Somewhere to be too repetitive of themes in Coppola’s previous work, or did not sympathize with the protagonist because of his relative success. It was released to select theaters in the United Kingdom and Ireland on December 10, 2010, and in the United States on December 22, 2010.
About the Production
When he got the call inviting him to work on the new movie from writer / director Sofia Coppola, veteran producer G. Mac Brown sensed that it was just the challenge he needed. Not that he had been lacking for challenges; as he notes, “My last two film projects had budgets of hundreds of millions of dollars and each shot for more than 100 days.
“I don’t want to say that SOMEWHERE was easy, because everyone worked really hard. But this was such an intimate, small movie that it was easy to stay focused on the heart of the story, which is between a father and daughter.”
Sofia Coppola’s brother Roman Coppola, who was already on board as producer of SOMEWHERE, remarks, “Keeping away extra stuff that can pile onto a movie was important for us. Sofia was modeling this project in a European, intimate style as well as in her own personal style, which is simple and no-nonsense.
“One of my duties was to encourage the notion that less is more. While it was important to save money, it was far more important to create the intimacy that Sofia wanted in the filmmaking process. The spirit of the movie meant recruiting people who would embrace it; I live in L.A. and Sofia hasn’t lived here in a while, so she relied on me to refer local crew to her.”
Brown offers, “There’s a saying that the two most expensive words in the movie business are ‘what if,’ and that necessitates a lot of equipment and staff to make sure you’re ready for any eventuality. We tried to remove those two words from this production’s vocabulary; Sofia is so clear about what she wants. For me, it was a sea change in figuring out what is essential to getting a movie made.”
The shoot would impact the storytelling, and vice versa; as Brown comments, “If you can have anything you want to have, it’s hard for you to decide what’s right.”
When contacted and contracted, everyone joining the production realized that they were going to be part of something different than any picture they’d done before. Stephen Dorff, cast in the lead role of Johnny Marco, states, “After making around three dozen movies, I’ve gotten a gift of a part.SOMEWHERE is special – poetic, sweet, and truly in Sofia’s style.
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
Somewhere (2010)
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Benicio Del Toro, Chris Pontius, Michelle Monaghan, Elle Fanning, Stephen Dorff, Laura Ramsey, Kristina Shannon, Karissa Shannon, John Prudhont, Angela Lindvall, Maryna Linchuk
Screenplay by: Sofia Coppola
Production Design by: Anne Ross
Cinematography by: Harris Savides
Film Editing by: Sarah Flack
Costume Design by: Stacey Battat
Set Decoration by: Fainche MacCarthy
Art Direction by: Shane Valentino
Music by: Phoenix
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity and language.
Distributed by Focus Features
Release Date: December 22, 2010