Sofia Coppola Friday #8 – The Recap

It’s the end of the line. I’m sad to let these films go for now but the beauty of art is that it’s never fully gone. Art exists all around us and even within us. Great art stays somewhere deep inside for us to draw from whenever we want or need. This project I’m embarking on with some of my favorite filmmakers has been even more rewarding than I initially thought. I’m learning things about myself that were previously hidden or unobserved. Growth is always a good thing.

With that said, let’s recap what we’ve learned from Sofia Coppola’s films.

First, she is a filmmaker who always has something to say. She makes you do the work but her message is ultimately always clear. Her films are never stagnant — they don’t just exist, they live. She is frequently inspired by depicting the reality of celebrity and tabloid culture. This makes a ton of sense considering she grew up in one of the most famous Hollywood families our generation has ever seen. Coppola is also consumed with dissecting the pitfalls of love and lust and the need to be loved. She also knows that love and obsession are completely different — this is a distinction a portion of our population routinely fails to make.

Sofia Coppola is a confident filmmaker. In fact, she’s one of the most confident filmmakers working today. Everything in her films always works in concert in order to present her specific vision. Her work is so real. How does she accomplish this? First, her dialog is always great and perfectly matched to what each film requires. This is no easy fete. She has to match her writing to the film’s tone and subject matter while also delivering something unique to not only each character but the actors portraying those characters. This is the secret sauce for a screenwriter and most aren’t nearly this good. It’s part of what makes Quentin Tarantino’s scripts so amazing. People jump to obvious conclusions about how “cool” it is and they try and mimic that. Hollywood then becomes inundated by bad imitators. No, the great ones, (and Sofia Coppola is definitely one of the great ones) match their writing with what is required and only what is required. This brings me to another aspect of why her films are so universally great: her ability to cast to the role. I will argue that this is actually a super power. Last, her needle dropping is on point. I spoke about this a few weeks ago and it bears repeating: she makes the best use of pop songs in her films. That’s it, nobody else does it better.

Now, what I’m most excited to get to is a realization I made as I rewatched her first six films. Sofia Coppola has created a trilogy of sister films. For the record, all of her films have aspects that either resemble or build upon previous work but there is more. First, On The Rocks is the odd one out. Being her newest film, it has yet to find it’s sibling. We’ll just have to see what Coppola cooks up for us in the future before revisiting. As for the other six, they break up like this:

The Virgin Suicides and The Beguiled are a perfect pair. Coppola revisits material dominated by men. TVS is based on a book written by a man and The Beguiled is a remake of a film starring Clint Eastwood. Coppola takes these stories and either reframed them around the women involved or alters the focus so we concentrate on the women and their own daily lives. Both films are about young women living under strict rules while blossoming into adults. They are curious and sheltered but possess ferocious spirits. They will leave their mark upon the world.

Lost In Translation and Somewhere go hand in hand. Both films center around men who are at sea. Both men are world famous actors but at different points in their careers. In some ways, Somewhere feels like it could be a prequel to LIT in relation to their respective main characters. Both films are unafraid to explore the ennui fame can bring with it and the trappings it holds. They also each center around a hotel that serves as a sort of prison for its inhabitants. The characters are constantly searching for a way break out and run free and that metaphor cuts deep.

Marie Antoinette and The Bling Ring belong together. These two films are Coppola’s most celebrity obsessed. Both are based on true events and real life people. Both are stories of celebrity and tabloid and excess and depression. These two films get under our skin more each time we revisit them. She digs deeper into motives of why these people would choose to either do these things or live this way. They both also deal with the youth revolting against norms and then suffering the consequences set upon them by the populace.

This brings me to the end of this particular section of my project. What have I learned? Where my first filmmaker I studied, Terry Gilliam, unearthed new observations that make me think less of him as a human being, Sofia Coppola has only grown in my estimation. She is my favorite Coppola. I said what I said. Not only that but she has climbed the mountain and reached the summit. Sofia Coppola now stands shoulder to shoulder with David Lynch as my favorite filmmakers. I can’t choose right now. Perhaps we will have to do David Lynch next.

Now to the rankings:

7 – The Bling Ring
6 – The Beguiled
5 – On The Rocks
4 – Marie Antoinette
3 – Somewhere
2 – The Virgin Suicides
1 – Lost In Translation

Next week, we’ll lay the groundwork for the next chapter in this project. Until then, love each other.

Sofia Coppola Friday #6 – The Beguiled

We’re in the homestretch now and I’m getting sad. This little project has served as a reminder just how special a filmmaker Sofia Coppola is to me and my taste in film. Today we’re discussing her sixth feature film, The Beguiled. My wife and I raced out to theaters to see this upon release in 2017 and the film still holds this majestic power over me.

From the first frame, this feels like a bigger production than Coppola’s previous films, save for Marie Antoinette. I previously stated that I had discovered Coppola had created a trio of sister films and you’d think perhaps this one would fit with Marie Antoinette but no, The Beguiled is The Virgin Suicides if the Lisbons had better caretakers. The girls who live in the school resemble the Lisbon sisters to a great degree. They are sheltered and taken with flights of fancy and a curious nature. Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst are the two women left in charge of these girls and they are both better equipped at not only caring for these girls but preparing them for the world they’re inhabiting.

Coppola sucks us into the story quickly with slow, measured shots, expanding the scope beyond the confines of the house. She uses expert level sound design to bring a totally natural soundscape, making us feel every creak of wood, chirp of birds, and buzzing of insects. What this does is create an environment for us to actually feel the heat and humidity of the south. She doubles down by focusing her camera on the willow trees’ sagging branches and the morning mist burning off of every surface. There is a dreamy quality to all of this. Almost like it would be a typical summertime coming-of-age story were they not in such close proximity to danger.

If you pay close enough attention, you’ll hear the sounds of cannon fire in the distance. Coppola often uses this as a cue to a slight turn in the narrative, letting us know that there is danger right there around the corner, no matter how safe and sheltered you feel. And it’s here where we quickly realize why Coppola was drawn to this material and what exactly she’s hitting out at. The Civil War backdrop is just that, a backdrop. Women have always existed in this world in close proximity to danger. They are never safe when men are around and holding at least a modicum of power. Danger is always closer than you think.

Colin Farrell, as the wounded Union soldier in their care, exudes a charming menace throughout the entirety of this film. He’s a silver-tongued devil who uses a cunning ability to read these women and girls and their desires for his own good. It’s in the moments where he doesn’t get what he wants that he quickly and harshly lashes out — the epitome of a man used to getting his way, no matter what. Kidman, for her part, is extraordinary in this film. Perhaps my favorite performance of her career. She shines amidst a stellar cast as an unflappable and quietly gargantuan woman in charge. She is calmly yet resolutely in control at all times. Specifically Farrell and Kidman again show off how well Coppola casts to the role. They are both perfect in this film.

As the film carries on and Farrell fully makes his villainous turn, Kidman is forced to brush aside an attempt at her own position from Dunst. I believe Coppola is commenting on how women sometimes are detrimental to other women in power and there is nothing a man likes more when challenged than seeing women become cannibalistic with each other — this is partly what has helped keep men in power for as long as any of us can remember. The film feels like a big time MeToo movement film even before the movement took hold.

As Kidman brushes the challenges aside, she asserts her own cunning to eliminate the threat once and for all. Back when we realized that a theme of the film was the close proximity women have to danger, we didn’t yet grasp that this particular blade cuts both ways. Farrell thinks he’s won but he lost sight of what has been happening around him. Kidman, again calmly and with precision, eliminates him with ease, thus restoring peace and order to her school and the girls’ lives. Where Farrell was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, these girls were actually a pack of bears and Kidman, their protective mama. I love how Coppola shows these women collectively standing defiant in the face of those who wish to dominate them. Kidman specifically is handing out great life lessons to anyone who will hear them.

By the time the credits roll, we’re ready to leave them be, knowing they will be just fine. This is the world of men — entitled, expectant, with false humility. Yet everyday life is moldable and the step-over into the world of women can be treacherous for men like this. I say good riddance to them and onward to a better future.

Next week, the brand new film from Sofia Coppola, On The Rocks. Until then, love each other.

Sofia Coppola Friday #4 – Somewhere

This week, we’ll be discussing the fourth feature film from Sofia Coppola, Somewhere. It tells the story of Johnny Marco and his daughter Cleo. He is a superstar actor currently living in the famous Hollywood hotel, Chateau Marmont while Cleo is his eleven year old daughter who surprises him with a visit.

From the first moment, Coppola is hitting us with a big metaphor as we are shown nothing but a black Ferrari driving around a remote racetrack. Johnny is directionless at the onset of this film. Here, he’s in an expensive sports car and doing nothing but going around in circles. We move on to the Chateau with Johnny, drunk, stumbling down the stairs with an entourage. He falls and breaks his arm. Coppola is pulling no punches in showing Johnny’s nothingness. She uses natural light and unadorned settings. He pays for a striptease with twins but falls asleep before they’re done. He wakes the next morning and we see Xanax and Propecia sitting on his bathroom sink. It’s telling. Johnny is worried about losing his hair which equates to his movie star looks which connects him to his youth. He’s depressed and constantly looking to fill the void inside with anything. He hires the strippers again, remains awake but it is no less sad.

This film feels like a sister to Lost In Translation because Johnny resembles a younger Bob in many ways. He is able to do whatever he wants but never has anything to do or anyone to do it with. Johnny is always surrounded by people and is always receiving free, various offers of anything from almost anyone he meets yet it is all so ineffectual. He is alone in a crowd — alone with his own demons.

Johnny wakes the next morning to see his daughter Cleo sitting on the edge of his bed and drawing on his cast. His face immediately lights up. We see the hint of a spark in Johnny’s eyes for the first time. He takes his daughter to her ice skating lesson and right away, the film strikes us with another of its lessons. Johnny is watching his daughter skate and Stephen Dorff’s face morphs from love and amusement to a troubling recognition. The realization of the similarities between his daughter skating and the dancers/strippers he hires for himself washes over him. He is now a man beginning to reckon with his own treatment of women. I have always loved Dorff and this is easily his best performance. Again, Coppola has impeccable taste in who she chooses for roles. There is nobody else who could portray Johnny with the rough, lonely care that Dorff displays. The same goes for Elle Fanning as Cleo. She is an astonishing talent.

The film then follows Johnny alone for some time as he has a press junket to attend for his new film. Coppola is sure to show us the box he must stand on in order to be as tall as his female co-star. The co-star in question is also quietly and constantly reminding him how much she doesn’t like him throughout the whole process. We finish with Johnny’s stop at an fx studio for a plaster mold of his head. They then apply serious aging makeup and we watch Johnny study himself as he takes in what the future likely holds for him. It is all very vain and illustrates this particular side of the Hollywood game with brilliant clarity. He so desperately needs to feel good about himself and for others to show him similar admiration.

Johnny then receives a call from one of his exes, Cleo’s mother, and she explains that he needs to take care of Cleo for awhile because she needs time to herself. Johnny has a prior engagement in Italy and takes Cleo along with him. We get to witness and experience the absurdity and surreal nature of celebrity during this sequence. The point of view switches to Cleo as she takes it all in. It’s also here where Johnny, in the midst of staying in a lavish suite, begins to take stock in the ridiculousness of what he does.

As the film goes on we watch Johnny begin to figure out what is truly important in his life. He loves and cherishes Cleo more than anything else and it’s wonderful to watch him figure this out for himself. Where in the beginning his car was a vessel for restless nature and an aimless life, with Cleo it’s a tool used for specific purposes. His whole life has direction when with his daughter. I love the scenes where it is Johnny and Cleo alone. Their late night gelato binge in Italy. The knowing smirk he gives her on stage in Italy. Playing cards, eating burgers, being serenaded in the Chateau’s lobby. Playing ping-pong. The underwater tea party and subsequent poolside lounge session. Johnny is fully alive like he hasn’t been in a long time.

The time finally comes for Johnny to take Cleo to camp for the next several weeks. She is afraid for her mom and as they say goodbye, we see Johnny is afraid to be without his daughter. He knows the hole that is inside him and it’s grown too big and unkempt due to his negligence. He turns to his daughter and tells her, “Cleo! I’m sorry I haven’t been around.” The helicopter rotors drown him out. Cleo smiles and waves and she’s gone. Johnny swipes at a rogue tear. This is important because he needed to own this failure. He needed to admit this out loud. Where in the beginning of the film, Somewhere meant nothing, it now means something. Johnny could have gone anywhere but he was stuck and trapped by his own fame and the shackles that come with that lifestyle. This is perfectly illustrated by his final night at the Chateau. He looks out over the city of Los Angeles and there is nothing there for him. The Chateau and his fame have acted like a prison, keeping him where it wants him to be. A hotel acting as a sort of prison is the second big similarity to Lost In Translation.

Johnny checks out and drives straight out of the city. He leaves his Ferrari on the side of a remote road and walks away from it all. The look on his face is a mix of relief, happiness and determination as he finally leaves his trappings behind. He once wandered, searching for a map to life but now he finally has somewhere to go.

Next week, The Bling Ring. Until then, love each other.