The Bling Ring

Posted on: 5th July 2013  |

Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga
UK Release date: 5 July 2013
Certificate: 15 (90 mins)

The Bling Ring is based on the true story of a group of Californian teenagers who carried out a series of burglaries on celebrity homes in Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009, stealing clothes and accessories worth $3million in total. There are some obvious starting points for a critique of this story: the trespassing, theft and the invasion of privacy perpetrated by the Bling Ring; the media-generated obsession with celebrity and status symbols that motivated them; or the greed that turned these financially-secure teens into magpies when presented with luxury goods.

But what struck me is Sofia Coppola’s directorial line – or rather, her lack of such a line. The source material for the script was Nancy Jo Sales’ 2010 Vanity Fair article, ‘The Suspects Wore Louboutins’, and the film adopts the detached, journalistic tone of the piece, rather than playing the story for drama. The fact that Coppola (who also wrote the script) omitted from Sales’ account the jealous in-fighting within the group suggests that the choice to shun any emotional arc in favour of reportage was very deliberate. The simple camerawork – single, often static shots – adds to the documentary-like effect.

The presentation of the perpetrators is largely neutral. There is no sympathy, but nor is there any judgment. The comedic moments often come from Emma Watson’s character, Nicki (based on the real-life Alexis Neiers) and her frankly ludicrous comments about her involvement: ‘I think this situation was attracted into my life because it was supposed to be a huge learning lesson for me to grow and expand as a spiritual human being.’ However, this all became a little less funny and a little more unnerving upon the discovery that this was a bona fide quotation, as were other equally ridiculous quips in the film. You could not make this stuff up; thankfully for Coppola, she did not need to.

The film’s failure to come down on one side or another has generated mixed reactions from the victims. Actress Rachel Bilson, who was targeted on multiple occasions, said, ‘I thought it was weird to glorify something that was so upsetting for a lot of people’. Paris Hilton, however, who was also a repeat victim of the group, not only made a cameo appearance but allowed the crew into her house to film the relevant scenes in situ. The lines of judgement are further blurred by other celebrity appearances: there is a cameo from Kirsten Dunst, a small role for actor/musician Gavin Rossdale (who holds similar celebrity status to many of the victims); and of course there is a leading role for Watson. Her international fame is now easily equal to that of Lindsay Lohan, Megan Fox, Orlando Bloom or any of the other victims, which means that it is slightly disconcerting to see her portraying an individual who violated the privacy of these figures so grossly, although she plays the role well.

The film showcases superficiality on a number of levels, and one of these is spiritual. Nicki and another of the girls, Sam, are home-schooled by Nicki’s mother and they begin each day with a prayer that they will be, ‘the best person I can be for the greater good of the planet and everyone who walks on it’. As an interviewer points out to Nicki and her mother at the end of the film, there seems to be something of a ‘disconnect’ between this professed mission and her actions, which both deny. It seems that they might both benefit from a meditation on The Two Standards.

What is most curious is that it is difficult to pinpoint what the gang, particularly their ringleader Rebecca (played by Katie Chang and based on Rachel Lee), are seeking to achieve. For Nicki and Sam, it does seem to be fame: they are aspiring model/actresses, and in fact Neiers was filming her own reality TV show at the time of her trial. But Rebecca’s motivations are less clear. Her desire to mimic the style of her fashion icons certainly plays a part, but her escapades soon become little more than habit. It is surprising that she is so un-intimidated when in the homes of her heroines; given that she is on her version of sacred ground, one might expect a little more reverence. It is only when she stands in front of her idol Lindsay Lohan’s dressing room mirror, spraying herself with Lindsay’s perfume, that Rebecca looks truly entranced – but rather than her proximity to Lohan or her acquisition of the actress’s possessions, it seems to be the satisfaction of having conquered her biggest challenge that makes her so happy. Her sidekick, Marc (Israel Broussard), at least appreciates the ‘beautiful, gorgeous things’ they steal, but he says of Rebecca that she just wants the lifestyle that everybody wants. This is sad in itself, but what is most disturbing is that there seems to be nothing more to it for her; there is no real desire for the clothes, no thrill of the chase, no ambition to be like these celebrities in any particular way – not that any one of these is particularly virtuous. She does just want what everybody else wants. Even her superficiality is vacuous.

It is hard to criticise Coppola for what is essentially a watchable and well-made film, and her decision to tell the story with no frills was the right one. But when the subject matter is so shallow, it will be hard for this film to leave a deep impression.



Frances Murphy



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The Bling Ring - Official Trailer

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