Sofia Coppola portrays parental rapport in 'Somewhere'

Sofia Coppola's new motion picture “Somewhere,” the story of a roguish actor named Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) who is forced to reexamine his life of excess when he gets an unexpected visit from his daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning), relies heavily on the relationship exhibited on screen by its two lead actors.

“It was really important that they had a believable rapport and a bond so we did a lot of rehearsals and improvisations before filming,” says Coppola, noting she would also encourage the two actors to spend time with one another in character. “I had Stephen pick Elle up from school and take her to do things. They did a lot of stuff together so I think that by the time we started filming they already had a rapport and he was thinking about how he had to drive more safely when she was in the car and other things he wouldn't (ordinarily) know.”

“Somewhere” is Coppola's fourth feature-length film as a writer/director. Her filmography also includes “The Virgin Suicides,” “Lost in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette.” Although Coppola is eager to begin work on yet another project, she is even more excited to see “Somewhere” finally grace the silver screen.

“The idea of the characters came to mind when I was living in France and thinking about L.A. from a distance,” Coppola explains. “I wanted to do something set there around this kind of movie star guy that you see pictures of in tabloid magazines and stuff. And I also just had my first daughter so I wanted to put in the story a connection with him being a parent.”

Coppola could not resist instilling a little of her 4-year-old Romy in “Somewhere's” Cleo but admits the character is mostly a reflection of her friend's 12-year-old daughter who grew up in the Hollywood scene. Of course, being the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the filmmaker behind “The Godfather” trilogy, the writer/director had first-hand experience with Cleo's unique circumstances. Meanwhile, Johnny is based on at least a dozen people Coppola has either met or heard stories about.

“I pictured Stephen when I was writing the script,” Coppola adds. “I had met him over the years and always thought he was a really wonderful actor and a nice guy. I thought he would bring a lot of heart to this character you might not (otherwise) care about. And then we met Elle when I was putting it together and I just thought she would bring so much to it. The most important thing is that they hit it off and worked well together.”

A lot of the pair's relationship is said not with dialogue but through facial expressions. Coppola says she likes these tender moments, noting that so much is expressed by just a look or a gesture. She adds that in real life people rarely use words to say exactly how they feel so she attempted to portray Johnny and Cleo's connection in a much more natural way.

“I tried to be in the mode of [Johnny's] character and be in his state of mind,” Coppola says. “He's kind of stuck … so I tried not to move the camera a lot and make it where you're really just alone with him. Whenever I start a movie I try to think of the point of view of the character and then how to express that with how you shoot it.”

At the end of the day, Coppola says she just tries to do her work to the absolute best of her ability. And she has received extremely positive feedback on “Somewhere” from not only critics but also members of the general moviegoing public, many of who claim to have really connected with the film's human emotions – especially those dealing with the theme of a parent reconnecting with a child.

“That's very gratifying for me,” says Coppola, noting that “Somewhere” is not for everyone but will definitely appeal to moviegoers who need a break from the action-packed extravaganzas more frequently seen on the silver screen. “I hope it's refreshing for audiences who are usually bombarded by so much going on to see something in a slower pace. It lets the audience breathe.”

“Somewhere” (R – 98 minutes) opens Friday exclusively at Harkins Camelview 5. Visit NCM.com for specific showtimes. See also "Movie Review: Somewhere."

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