Thoughts On : The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring is a film directed by Sofia Coppola, depicting the crime scenes of the infamous Bling Ring gang that had been burglarizing Hollywood homes for their benefit (side note: since when was burglarizing not for the suspects' benefit?). The film was based on an article that appeared on Vanity Fair that discussed the incidents. I would write my review in paragraph form, but at the risk of sounding incoherent, I'd thought I'd list them down instead.

1. It had a very Sofia Coppola feel to it. The atmosphere, the way it was filmed, the interjection of music and the lack of it, scenes that depict to be artistic interpretations - it's all there. Harris Savides worked on this - and he also did Somewhere, which in itself is a very visual film.

2. The content, however was abysmal. It's sensationalizing the wrong doings of these teenagers, and the film serves as a marketing propaganda to those who aspire the same things they do. Of course, they won't make the same mistakes (hopefully), but it might send the wrong message to these peers. Considering these teenagers got off easy, they could easily be role models for their peers - and for the wrong reasons. 

3. She must have reasons for doing this film. I think her concerns for showing such a film is not so she could be criticized for her upscale upbringing. She probably thought it was a story worth painting a picture of. Just because the content of the film was something that I thought shouldn't be sensationalized doesn't give me the right to tell her what to do.

4. In relation to that, I think that the upscale lifestyle that she focused on shouldn't be taken against her. After all, that is the theme of the film, and it's to her advantage that she's familiar to the lifestyle because she will know how to approach it. Whether she did approach it in a realistic manner or not is up to us to decide. 

5. If you're expecting some sort of deeper context in all of this, don't. Coppola placed a group of bored rich teenagers on screen and we saw a cinematic version of how they are and what they did. They neither have any personality, nor anything remotely related to what makes them stand out. There is no deeper context in this. It's a crime story, told in a glitzy, glamorous, Coppola way. I liked how the characters were vapid and didn't come from sob stories or any dramas (particularly the Rebecca character - Coppola could have used the whole family issue as a strong suit, but she didn't). The characters had some relative background, but nothing that would make the audience see some goodness, or reasoning as to why they were doing such things. Sure, she showed some kind of reformation scenes from some of the characters, but she doesn't give us the need and the want to sympathize with them. It's up to the viewer to make their own judgement.

6. I'm sorry I have to say this, but Emma Watson was the film's poster girl. It might have something to do with the woman she's portraying - how she has her own show, and all. Based on the films I've seen, this is one of Coppola's works where a high profiled celebrity is featured and Emma Watson has people drawn in to see her work. Nothing against Watson at all, but she was really hyped when it came to marketing the film.

7. I pretty much have mixed feelings about this. It's hard to appreciate the cinematic aspects about this, if the content itself is something not worth my time. I saw the film because I want to know what the deal was, see number 6, and it's Sofia Coppola, so it must be at least good, in terms of film making.


Final Word: This is a very hyped film, but overall, her other works precede this. If you're interested in the whole Hollywood lifestyle tale, I suggest seeing Somewhere instead.

Cast: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson
Director: Sofia Coppola
Year: 2013