When I saw 'Lost in Translation' a few years ago, I wrote Sofia Coppola off as a complete neophyte and someone who was riding on the coattails of her famous father. Now I must grudgingly concede that Ms. Coppola has markedly improved as a director. 'The Bling Ring', based on the true story of a bunch of California high school students, who burglarized homes of rich celebrities, has the look and feel of a well-crafted music video. In fact, Coppola employs a slew of contemporary tunes (mostly rap), that give the film its raw edge.
The story is rather straightforward, following the basic facts of the case against the amoral teenagers who commit the 'bling ring' burglaries. The main anti-hero protagonist is Rebecca who befriends Marc; both attend a high school for underachievers and dropouts. When Marc mentions that one of his well-off acquaintances is out of town, Rebecca has no qualms about convincing him to burglarize the acquaintance's house where they make off with a handbag, cash and keys to the victim's Porsche, which is used to go on an extended shopping spree.
Marc and Rebecca meet up with her airhead friend, Nikki (well-played by Emma Watson) and her two adopted sisters and bump into celebrities Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton at a nightclub. Marc and Rebecca realize that Paris Hilton is out of town while doing some research on the internet and they then concoct a plan to burglarize her home.
Paris Hilton gave Coppola permission to use her home for filming the burglary scenes and one comes away amazed at just how many clothes and 'bling', Paris Hilton owns. Hilton's home is burglarized by the Bling Ring on multiple occasions and other celebrities are targeted including Audrina Patridge, Megan Fox and Orlando Bloom. Unfortunately, the burglary scenes become tiresome and after awhile, one realizes that there's not much to this 'mini-documentary' of sorts, at all!
Coppola does well in highlighting the utter vacuousness and amorality of the principals. A few plot developments keep us mildly interested including the sale of a box of Rolex watches to a boyfriend of one of the Bling Ring and the pilfering of a gun from one of the homes, which goes off accidentally, while another one of the Bling Ring, stupidly plays with it.
Coppola deftly illustrates the gang's undoing, including a montage of their Facebook posts as well as the news coverage (including surveillance footage) that ultimately leads to their final downfall (capture by police and conviction and sentencing).
The Bling Ring's principals, Rebecca and Marc, receive the longest prison sentences (4 years) but the others get off rather easy. After Nikki does a short stint in jail with Lindsay Lohan, she claims to have learned a lot from her experience but has a hard time accepting responsibility (her story is basically that she was led astray). Now Nikki has a website devoted to self-promotion, and one wonders if she's really learned anything from her experiences.
Coppola has done well with the actors here and has learned to use the camera adroitly. It's just that the material is slight and events just seem to repeat themselves one too many times throughout the film. Coppola's detached eye captures the lunacy and moral failings of these airhead teenagers as well as the crass materialism of the Bling Ring victims. 'The Bling Ring' is a well crafted film but would be better off as a TV movie.
The story is rather straightforward, following the basic facts of the case against the amoral teenagers who commit the 'bling ring' burglaries. The main anti-hero protagonist is Rebecca who befriends Marc; both attend a high school for underachievers and dropouts. When Marc mentions that one of his well-off acquaintances is out of town, Rebecca has no qualms about convincing him to burglarize the acquaintance's house where they make off with a handbag, cash and keys to the victim's Porsche, which is used to go on an extended shopping spree.
Marc and Rebecca meet up with her airhead friend, Nikki (well-played by Emma Watson) and her two adopted sisters and bump into celebrities Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton at a nightclub. Marc and Rebecca realize that Paris Hilton is out of town while doing some research on the internet and they then concoct a plan to burglarize her home.
Paris Hilton gave Coppola permission to use her home for filming the burglary scenes and one comes away amazed at just how many clothes and 'bling', Paris Hilton owns. Hilton's home is burglarized by the Bling Ring on multiple occasions and other celebrities are targeted including Audrina Patridge, Megan Fox and Orlando Bloom. Unfortunately, the burglary scenes become tiresome and after awhile, one realizes that there's not much to this 'mini-documentary' of sorts, at all!
Coppola does well in highlighting the utter vacuousness and amorality of the principals. A few plot developments keep us mildly interested including the sale of a box of Rolex watches to a boyfriend of one of the Bling Ring and the pilfering of a gun from one of the homes, which goes off accidentally, while another one of the Bling Ring, stupidly plays with it.
Coppola deftly illustrates the gang's undoing, including a montage of their Facebook posts as well as the news coverage (including surveillance footage) that ultimately leads to their final downfall (capture by police and conviction and sentencing).
The Bling Ring's principals, Rebecca and Marc, receive the longest prison sentences (4 years) but the others get off rather easy. After Nikki does a short stint in jail with Lindsay Lohan, she claims to have learned a lot from her experience but has a hard time accepting responsibility (her story is basically that she was led astray). Now Nikki has a website devoted to self-promotion, and one wonders if she's really learned anything from her experiences.
Coppola has done well with the actors here and has learned to use the camera adroitly. It's just that the material is slight and events just seem to repeat themselves one too many times throughout the film. Coppola's detached eye captures the lunacy and moral failings of these airhead teenagers as well as the crass materialism of the Bling Ring victims. 'The Bling Ring' is a well crafted film but would be better off as a TV movie.