It’s a bizarre thing, The Bling Ring. Sofia Coppola’s refusal to take a position or present a clear vision is a trial. It is both her great strength and weakness. One moment you suspect her film of being as hollow, vacuous, and ostentation-obsessed as the celebrity culture it portrays. But the next you don’t.
The camera nervously follows five teenagers from Los Angeles who, out of sheer boredom and 21st-century hooliganism, start breaking into the villas of the celebrities they adore. We could hardly believe the film is based on real events. The juvenile gang of thieves that was dubbed the Bling Ring would find out via the internet whether when stars like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan were not home, and would sometimes simply find a spare key under the mat. The burglars were not in the least concerned about fingerprints, however. And to complete this tribute to idiocy: the girls and boy flaunted their loot on Facebook. Said loot consisted mainly of extremely expensive luxury items of the type celebrities have in excess and like showing off with. To sparkle just for a moment, to be Paris Hilton, these are the only things left that remotely resemble a life goal. Satire comes knocking, but Coppola does not let it in, keeping the children more or less out of range and exploring the age of superficiality, indifference, and demi-god reality stars. At times the film’s direction is too vague. Occasionally I enjoyed being rocked to and fro by the dreamlike images, the atmosphere, Emma Watson’s pole dance, and the fantastic combination of film and music. The latter is by Kanye West, M.I.A., Azealia Banks, Rye Rye, Phoenix, Frank Ocean, and Can. I’m curious to see if The Bling Ring matures.
The Bling Ring ●●
US, 2013, dir.: Sofia Coppola, act.: Emma Watson, Israel Broussard, 90 min.
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