The Bling Ring
I had to give The Bling Ring a re-watch since I was on the Sofia Coppola binge. I remember not being overly fond of this film when I first saw it and thinking it was her weakest work. Fresh eyes and all I’m more positive about the film although I think the message of the film isn’t exactly clear nor is it a film without some issues. Still there are plenty of things about this film that I really enjoyed. It did remind me of something that you would see from Harmony Korine like Kids or Spring Breakers, however much more presentable.
The film follows the real life events of a bunch of young kids in California who robbed items from the homes of famous celebrities. They are a group of fame obsessed teens who broke into houses and tracked down when celebs when they weren’t home. They were eventually caught for their crimes and served various sentences. Its a wonder why Sofia Coppola decided to present this story as a film but I think I’m more lenient to it now than I was back then. Its a good film although it feels slightly underdeveloped as a project.
The first thing to notice is how shallow the characters are. You won’t be identifying with them or even feeling sorry for them. I don’t think they were meant to be developed very well, the intention may have been to have vacuous privileged kids at the center. We don’t really know why they do what they do, they just might be bored. One thing that I noticed is that Sofia Coppola doesn’t really go any deeper to exploring the story. The events are laid out as they happened but there’s no real condemning or attempting to identify with the characters. Its just a straightforward presentation of the popular events.
That’s not to say that this film isn’t good though. Coppola masters beautiful shots of streets and houses in Hollywood. Its got a youth driven loud soundtrack which compliments the scenes and characters well. Its still a very nice looking film although there may be a longing for more in this film. I will say this though, Emma Watson is very good in this. Who would have thought Hermione Granger can completely become a prototypical snotty girl who is obsessed with getting her social brand out there. Its wonderful to see her disappear into that role really naturally.
7/10
Rockatthemovies 