Review: The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola is a woman who has made a career by telling stories about unlikeable and lost people. Characters such as the spoilt Queen of France and an actor wasting his days in the legendary Chateau Marmont may not exactly appeal to audiences, yet with a mixture of stunning cinematography, clever scriptwriting and perfect musical cues, Coppola presents them in a way that makes us sympathize with, if not even like them. What's noticeable about The Bling Ring is that this ability to show humanity in even the most awful and hopeless people in a flattering light that has run through all of Coppola's films is missing here. Without it, she has succeeded in creating a film that is every bit as hollow and materialistic as the characters within it. 

It's not the topic of wealth that causes Coppola to go astray, as she's dealt with it well in a previous (and unjustly underrated) film, Marie Antoinette. By setting a scene consisting of hundreds of pairs of shoes, mountains of cake and fountains of champagne to Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy", she manages to create an image that is both satirical and lustworthy. Rather it's the viewpoint that she chooses to take towards the film's protagonists, the titular Bling Ring, a group of teenage wannabe A-listers turned thieves. Instead of following her usual formula of showing the protagonists at their very worst, wallowing in self-pity or egotistical self-love, before showing us that hey, these are people with neurosis's and weaknesses too, cut them some slack, she attempts omniscience by presenting these the teens and their livestyles to us without passing comment on their actions. In every interview I have read with her proceeding the film's release, she's made it very clear that she doesn't want to pass judgement on the Bling Ring, and would rather the audience make their minds up for themselves. Yet this is exactly the sort of film that needs to be subjective. Without Coppola taking a clear stance against the Bling Ring, telling us whether or not they should be detested or envied, the film has little structure, and becomes simply a series of teenagers breaking into houses, cooing over clothes and getting drunk, before FINALLY getting their comeuppance. 

It's not just Coppola's viewpoint that makes this film weak. Visually, it's lacking the light touch and beauty of her other films. The Virgin Suicides is a film that audiences adore not just for its universal themes of wasted youth, angst and love, but for its dreamy visuals. As Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette are set in the past, it makes perfect sense for them to be filmed in a dreamlike haze of nostalgia. But Lost in Translation and Somewhere, both firmly rooted in the present day, are still endlessly interesting to look at. Bling Ring on the other hand, is as conservative as they come, mainly lacking Coppola's distinctive camera talents. It could almost pass for a standard Hollywood film.

I can without a doubt confirm that The Bling Ring is the weak link in Coppola's otherwise flawless chain of films. While of course the film's point is to question the media-obsessed world we live in, the film's attempts to delve into the world of celebrity, such as a slideshow of images of Paris Hilton, looking as though they were created on Microsoft Powerpoint, fail miserably. Perhaps another year, and another time, and the gang's (admittedly real, and fairly impressive for a group of dumb teenagers) exploits may seem more impressive and dangerous. But compared to Harmony Korine's pastel daze of Spring Breakers, they seem like nothing. The title may be bling, but sadly the film does little to dazzle an audience.

Grace Barber-Plentie 

Review: This is the End

Celebrities are (mainly) pretty shitty people. The apocalypse is a bit of a bummer. Combine these two things and the most obvious outcome is an indulgent circle-jerk of a film, with the occasional pyre of flames and caverns opening to hell. Certainly, this is what the majority of the public expected of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's directorial debut. Yet what they got was something rather different. 

Obviously, the "classic" elements of every film our ensemble (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson playing allegedly fictional versions of themselves) has starred in feature - weed smoking, masturbation, jokes about masturbation, bromance - yet the obviously sentimental Rogen and Goldberg do allow themselves to throw in a few moments that are fairly emotional, amidst all the chaos. Overall, its the story of the disintegration of Baruchel and Rogen's friendship - it's coincidental that the world also seems to be ending. The film also contains a surprisingly religious core that is rarely - if ever - seen in Hollywood films these days. (probably because most of Hollywood are scientologists?) As the film progresses, the gang realise that they haven't exactly lived the best of lives, and that the hellfire reigning down upon them may be a little more than just a bit earthquake. 

Most of the film can certainly be admirable as an effort from first-time directors, yet there are inevitably a few flaws. Nearly all of the film's CGI elements look pretty shlocky, so much so that it's hard to believe that this is a film released in 2013. Some sections also drag, particularly those where the characters just sit around and talk in Franco's house. Clearly, this is a trait that the two have inherited from their mentor, Judd Apatow, as This is 40 was basically 2 hours of Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann sitting around and whining about their "terrible" (pretty great) lives. Rogen and Goldberg also try to counter this with many twists and turns, some of which just feel very strange. The last 30 minutes or so of the film are very surreal, and as I left the cinema, the only thing I could think to remark was "that was a strange film".

Yet, credit where it's due, I haven't laughed as much at a film in the cinema for a LONG time. The humour, unsurprisingly, is not the most sophisticated, and not every joke hits, but when they do, they are golden. Particularly excellent are the Freaks and Geeks references scattered throughout the film ("Freaks forever!" a worringly obsessed James Franco tells Seth Rogen) and a few cameos late in the film that have astoundingly been kept secret from the public. This is the End may be a little scattered, but for some of the jokes alone, it's well worth flocking to like the world is ending. 

Grace Barber-Plentie

Review: Before Midnight

Watching each of Richard Linklater’s Before films feels like visiting old friends, perhaps even more so with his latest Before Midnight. Nine years have passed since we last visited Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) in Paris during Jesse’s book tour and the couple are now married and holidaying in Greece with their twin daughters. This isn’t necessarily a spoiler – these film can’t really be spoiled as the magic of them lies in the dialogue and how these beloved characters deal with their lives at each stage we visit them.

Where Before Midnight clearly differs from the previous two films is that Linklater allows Jesse and Celine interact with other people, both separately and together. Because of this, the film feels more relaxed and casual as they are not dealing with the constraints of time like in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset - they can afford to take their time.

Instead, they are dealing with the constraints of marriage and parenthood which addressed more directly in the second half when they take the night off at a hotel and end up bringing out the worst in each other. Gone are the romantic, hopeful fantasies found in Before Sunrise. Here we are able to see the cynicism and realism that living through previous failed relationships have cost the protagonists. They are mean to each other, insulting each other choices and ideas. “I fucked my whole life up because of your singing” Jesse tell her and we’re unsure whether or not that’s a declaration of love or an admission of bitterness. The second half, where it’s just the two of them talking, feels more natural, like old times, and yet it’s also uncomfortable to watch as they tear each other down.

Although Before Midnight isn’t my favourite of the three, it still feels so authentic and is really just perfect. It’s so strange to see Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke go from their baby-faced twenty-something selves in Before Sunrise, to a married greying couple but both actors are these characters and play the roles naturally. I hope that Linklater, Delpy and Hawke let us revisit these characters again in 2021.

Beth Johnston