Somewhere. 2010. USA. Written and directed by Sofia Coppola. With Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning. 35mm. 98 min.
Somewhere is Sofia Coppola’s pared-down, intimate reckoning with her own spotlit childhood. Starring Elle Fanning as Cleo, the daughter of famous actor Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff), the film examines the loneliness of celebrity and the alienating effects it can have on those in its proximity. Coppola has been transparent about the fact that many details stem directly from her life as the daughter of one of the foremost American directors. Though she denies that it is patently autobiographical, Somewhere is a family affair: Phoenix's Thomas Mars (Coppola’s husband) provides the nearly entirely diegetic score. The director mediates this closeness with her signature technical alienation, returning to a motif of Marco’s Ferrari as a symbol of his boredom in even the most ostensibly exciting circumstances. Somewhere was one of cinematographer Harris Savides’s final projects before his death.