Sofia Coppola restores her ever present gaze to the lifestyles of the rich and unfulfilled, and delivers her most poignant work yet in Somewhere.

After the critical disaster which was Marie Antoinette, it was inevitable that Coppola would take a step back into safer territory. But then again, “safer territory” is a term that might not even exist for the acclaimed writer/director, especially these days where the need to stimulate the audience at every conceivable opportunity is key to success.

Opening with a still framed shot of a sports car lapping a race track in real time (4 laps to be exact) would lead many to believe that Somewhere is Coppola’s exercise in dreariness, yet such is the life of Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) a movie star with all of the luxuries fame allows, yet does not hold an ounce of passion or ambition.

Shacked up in the infamous Chateau Marmont Hotel, his is a life of extreme bachelordom, nailing women nightly while promoting his latest movie during the day. Surprisingly, Coppola strays from the obvious choice of presenting Johnny as the ultimate hedonist, and instead opts for down to earth, kind, and quiet, Dorff playing those subtleties very well.

Instead his excess is found in the other extreme: the man simply has no soul. A scene featuring a press conference where he is quizzed on various topics is met with little interest, since there is no desire to state a position. His succession of sexual partners offer little more than limited stimulation. Hell, even offensive text messages from a stalker fail to rile him up.

His only lifeline is his 12 year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning), who forces Johnny to re-examine his life. It is she who provides purity in a world rife with temptation, happiness to his underlying sorrow, and purpose within his banal existence, with Fanning perfectly cast as Dorff’s saviour.

The popular choice is to express the life of celebrity as a never ending party, yet Coppola knows better. As the daughter of one of cinemas great filmmakers (Francis Ford Coppola for the uneducated), she has seen firsthand the world of celebrity, filled with artists, eccentrics, and hanger-on’s. It shows in her work that success doesn’t equate to happiness, and it’s an important message that will stick days after the credits role on this film.