Review: Sofia Coppola's 'Somewhere' a daring film

Many, including writer-director Sofia Coppola herself, have noted that Coppola's "Lost in Translation," "Marie Antoinette" and now "Somewhere" take place in either literal or (in the case of Versailles) metaphoric hotels, magnets for ennui as well as possibility.

So it is with "Somewhere," a small but, in its way, daring picture set largely within the confines of the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.

"Somewhere" has just enough incident to hold itself together and no more. Coppola's film -- about an even-tempered 11-year-old and her occasional father, and the time they spend together -- is not interested in thesis statements or head-on crises. We are eavesdropping between the lines and in the margins here, hanging out with a successful action star, played by Stephen Dorff, who spends his time and money at the Marmont, his current residence.

For a while Coppola observes this character, named Johnny Marco, mostly in isolation, often drinking and smoking.

Into this easygoing, somewhat-forlorn decadence, comes a naif. It is Johnny's daughter, Cleo (played by the very fine Elle Fanning), whose mother is having some problems. They get acquainted in a way Johnny hasn't made time for before.

Dorff and Fanning share the screen with two key co-stars. One is the hotel, which we get to know as well as Johnny knows it. The other is cinematographer Harris Savides, a true unsentimental artist. He's a genius with digital video ("Zodiac") but with "Somewhere," as with Noah Baumbach's "Greenberg," he proves himself a master with old-fashioned film stock. The way he captures the hazy, somewhat-sinister sunlight of L.A., you can practically taste it. It's pretty but never in a postcard way.

Coppola's film may frustrate some with its narrative concerns (i.e., not enough of them), but I found myself grateful that a filmmaker, the daughter of a famous director and a relative of many other famous and talented showbiz kids, could make a convincing case for this kind of inside-baseball story, both in the writing and in the leisurely, observant telling.