Somewhere. 2010. USA. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola. With Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning. 35mm. 87 min.
Hiding out from the world in a suite at the Chateau Marmont (a liminal zone comparable to the Tokyo hotel in Lost in Translation), movie star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) stares down his fears of creative and existential irrelevance, suffering the kind of ennui commonly experienced by those who fear their lives have plateaued, fame and acclaim be damned. Only the arrival of his semi-estranged daughter (Dakota Fanning) throws Johnny’s self-destructive tendencies into stark relief, ultimately helping him regain a sense of responsibility for himself and his remaining loved ones. Somewhere is perhaps Coppola’s most straightforwardly moving melodrama, but it’s also a richly textured mood piece, retaining the lightness of touch that made Lost in Translation a pop culture phenomenon while sharing Coppola’s perennial obsession with the spoils of the good life, drawn from indelible memories of a childhood spent in the shadow of her world-famous father.