Film Review: The Bling Ring

“Let’s go to Paris.”

The Bling Ring is a film from legendary director Sofia Coppola of the Coppola family (somewhat film royalty). Based on an article published in Vanity Fair called ‘The Suspects Wore Louboutins’ by Nancy Jo Sales (read the full article here if you’re interested), the film tells the story of the bizarre real-life events of a group of 18-year-olds who robbed the houses of those they aspired to be – everyone from Paris hilton, Rachel Bilson, Audrina from The Hills and Lindsay Lohan – stealing everything from designer bags, shoes, rugs and even attempting to take their pets.

I was excited to see this movie – the Cannes debut, the brash trailer with the absurdly catchy lead tune, the quirky posters. I was even more excited that Sofia Coppola (who has directed two of my genuinely favourite films The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation) was at the helm. Sadly, I was disappointed with Sofia’s effort this time round (and even more disappointed at Emma Watson’s shameful attempt at trying to realistically smoke a cigarette).

“Let’s go shopping” is one of the first lines we hear in the movie – setting us up for the utter and shameful commercialism and obsession with designer goods that motivates these audacious young thieves.

It’s a very straight account of the events that took place between the year that the group of five friends were stealing. Sofia’s direction doesn’t allow for any obvious irony, it just literally shows the events as they happen, filmed like a documentary, and this is an effective way to keep the audience involved. However, there is absolutely no jeopardy in this film – the suspence is quelled instantly as most of the film is told through confessional flashbacks which makes it more a case of constantly thinking, “Ok, so when are they just going to get caught already?”

There are some great bits in this movie. Some hilarious scenes include the character of Marc, the gay best friend who steals some of Paris Hilton’s pink Louboutins and dances around his bedroom in them and Nicki (played by Emma Watson’s) mother (played by Leslie Mann), who plays a convincing hippy ‘mom’ who home schools her kids and uses the likes of Angelina Jolie to inspire confidence in her girls.

But somehow the movie feels a bit flat – the characters are so lacking in any moral values or regard for anyone other than themselves, that you constantly feel distanced from the film. When they do eventually get caught, you don’t care at all what happens to them – the real victims, the celebrities who they stole from, aren’t even given much sympathy in the movie either. The way in which the film is shot never passes judgement on these awful kids running amuck around Hollywood and hurting people in the process. All they care about is taking the next ‘selfie’ and uploading it to their status on social media sites.

Despite feeling slightly underwhelmed, thinking about The Bling Ring in hindsight does give credit to how it very cleverly plays up the ‘Facebook and Twitter’ generation we live in. The group parade their designer celebrity finds on their Facebook pages and brag about ‘being at Rachel Bilson’s’ at their high school parties – and it is this brazen arrogance that eventually gets them caught.

Whether or not The Bling Ring will feel entirely out-dated in a decade, there is no denying this film is directly a product of our time right now and our celebrity and image obsessed generation. The film gives us (as the audience) front row seats into these celeb worlds, just like the robbing of the houses gives the group of teenagers a way in. Interestingly, Paris Hilton’s actual house was used in the filming of the movie, alongside real life cameos from the likes of Kirsten Dunst. You are suddenly made to feel equal to these famous faces that are put up on such a pedestal, and realise the only difference is that “they have got a lot of stuff” – and unlike Paris Hilton, we don’t all have our own nightclubs in our homes.

I would recommend this movie as a light-hearted watch. If you’re interested in the celeb-worshiping culture we are currently living in then this is the movie for you. If, like me, you’re watching it more for Sofia Coppola’s input, you might be slightly disappointed. It lacks the depth of her other work – but, then, maybe that’s the point?

Have you seen The Bling Ring yet? Would love to hear your thoughts too!

LMNH x

(ABOVE: Emma Watson as Nicki)