New Trailers: Oscar-Bait Edition
This week we got our first look at two new trailers for some serious Oscar-bait movies, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, starring Stephen Dorff (Deacon Frost in Blade), and Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name. Let's check them out!
The beautiful, understated aesthetic on display in Somewhere's trailer will be familiar to anyone who has seen either of Coppola's last two films, Lost in Translation (2003) and Marie Antoinette (2006). Like those films, Somewhere looks to draw heavily on the theme of bourgeois ennui, meaning Coppola has not yet outgrown her fascination with the lifestyles of the rich and bored. That's not necessarily a criticism - Coppola is an incredible filmmaker - but it does feel like she's staying well within previously charted thematic territory - especially the focus on the famous father/estranged daughter dynamic that was so central to Lost in Translation. As a side note, congratulations are due to Stephen Dorff and Elle Fanning: if ever there were a movie to bolster their acting credibility, this would be it. Bonus points to Elle for escaping sister Dakota's shadow (it's not a competition, girls!). OK, bonus points for you too, Dorff, for starring in your first important movie since Blade (1998).
