Sofia Coppola's previous work "Marie Antoinette" (Marie Antoinette) has drawn such criticism. In order to express Queen Mary’s luxury and frivolity, she filled the entire movie with modern electronic music, flamboyant lens movements and frequently-changed pink costumes, making this costume drama that focuses on female psychological portrayals to show the director’s personal style. . Although the pictures are beautiful, the plot is too weak to hide. If in "Lost in Tokyo" Bill Murray's comedic talent made up for the lack of plot, then for "Somewhere", it neither has a good performance to mobilize the atmosphere, but also There is no period drama costume as a highlight, only Sophia uses precise scene scheduling in a clichéd father-daughter family relationship scene.
The protagonist of the film is a divorced Hollywood star. His life is sloppy and boring. He can't find the purpose and value of life, and he has closed his heart from the outside world. But the days when he spends time with his daughter every week, he looks happier. In the end, after playing happily with his daughter for a few days, he seemed to miraculously found a new path in life. We know that such things do exist in real life. Family happiness can bring a man's life goals and sense of responsibility, but what this story cannot convince the audience is, why is such a man? And where is the opportunity for his transformation? His daughter is not by his side just now (but she spends a certain amount of time with him every month), so why is he suddenly enlightened in these few days?
Sofia Coppola’s meticulousness and refinement are commendable: For example, in the choice of sceneries, from the beginning of multi-use close-up (isolating the characters from the environment), to the later multi-use panoramic view (to make the characters and the environment happen). A certain connection); or in the choice of interior and exterior scenery, from the interior scenery when the protagonist is alone (monotonous flat lighting) to the exterior scenery when the father and daughter are together (the light and shadow are rich in levels to show a certain state of natural harmony). It's a pity that she used so many methods, but she couldn't help the whole story. On the contrary, it made the film more than polished. Why is the heart of the divorced popular Hollywood male star so boring and closed? The film has only hints (such as professional reasons), but not clear explanations. I think this is not a problem that the director inadvertently ignored, but comes from a certain complex of the director himself, because in her first two works, the protagonist no matter when and where he is in modern Tokyo or the era of the French Revolution. Appears depressed, deeply savoring the helplessness and boredom of life. But they can all be blamed on cultural barriers or historical facts, while the boring emotions in "Somewhere" come like a wind of holes and go like a tree without roots, without head and tail, and ambiguous.
The film has a superficial echo at the end and the beginning. At the beginning, the host opened the car in circles aimlessly, circle after circle, implying that there was no way out for his life, and he could only spin around. At the end, the car stopped towards the sun, and the protagonist showed a firm face. Looked, get out of the car and walked into the distance. If the story is magnificent or persuasive enough, these two echoing shots are credible, but the current situation is that the director has done everything that should be done technically, but he has not found one that matches her technology. Convincing emotions.
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