The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes: 60%
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola

There is one fantastic moment midway through The Bling Ring, Sofia Coppola's film about the infamous 'Bling Ring' group of teenagers who robbed the houses of various celebrities over several months. The 5 members of the group stride down a street, dressed like the Hollywood stars they aim to embody, as if nothing can touch them, while Kanye West's song 'Power' plays, perhaps the perfect song, reflecting on the fame and wealth that these teens are obsessed by. However, the film feels underwhelming in large parts, and never really delivers upon its potential.

The film follows a group of fascinatingly amoral teens, acted superbly by a bunch of relative unknowns and Emma Watson. Watson, Katie Chang and Israel Broussard are the three main leads and each of them give a very genuine and assured performance, as everything comes slowly crashing down for the group. What is also refreshing in this film is that the camera feels cold and nonjudgmental, allowing us to come to our own decisions, while the cinematography, headed by the late Harris Savides, to whom the film is dedicated, is fantastic. Which makes it even odder that the tone of the film is so often broken by computer images and videos, that although Coppola is clearly trying to tap into the social media spirit of the age, feel out of place.

However, the film has several problems that are quite frankly too big to be ignored. The first is that despite only being an hour and a half, the film feels overlong and the second act takes up far too much of the movie. There is simply not enough stuff going on, as the teens just break into house after house, while there are also no real attempts made at any kind of character development. The film also seems slightly confused about its lead role as the focus shifts unevenly between Broussard and Watson, and as a result of Coppola's standoffish approach, it is difficult to know who we are meant to be rooting for. 

The Bling Ring has potential and some great individual moments and theme, but it lets itself down in the middle.

3/5 Stars