Somewhere (2010) - Film Review

Somewhere, starring Stephen Dorff as Johnny Marco, a Hollywood actor caught in an aimless lifestyle of fame and fortune.

The movie opens with Dorff's character Johnny driving in circles on an open field in his black Porsche convertible. At least four minutes pass by before he finally stops the car. At first, I was wondering what the hell was going on, but it all makes sense at the end of the film.

With a very retro cinematography in the movie, I was confused as to what the setting of the film was. Yes, the Porsche was indeed the latest model, but Stephen Dorff's old-fashioned sunglasses paired with shots of Los Angeles in ways that was unfamiliar had me confused at first. But thankfully, it all started to make sense when the characters were playing Guitar Hero and texting on their Blackberries.

The plot itself is simple. A successful actor living an aimless lifestyle amidst all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, which actually isn't all that glamorous from an actor's perspective (as if we didn't know that already). The actor has a daughter (played by Elle Fanning) who his ex-wife leaves with him saying that she will be "gone for some time." And through spending time with his daughter, the actor is able to give up his lifestyle to start a new beginning.

I thought that the film was decent; the script, simple; and the actors acting just enough to make their characters believable. It was nice to see Stephen Dorff in something other than an action film, though there is nothing special about his performance here. As for Elle Fanning, I can't say there was anything special about her performance either.

I couldn't emphasis enough how simple this movie was meant to be. The soundtrack was at its bare minimum, as was the dialogue. But like I said, it did what it needed to.

But what annoyed me was the plot. The movie is only 91 minutes long, and it took 46 minutes before the wife calls. Then again however, there wasn't exactly much to the plot so had they revealed that scene earlier, there probably wouldn't have been much else to fill the remainder of the film with.

Somewhere was more of a authentic look into an actor's life, and though the story was not perfect, it was still entertaining at the least. Bottom line: There is a reason why this film almost went by unnoticed at the Box Office.