2013 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL: Sympathetic portraits of the idly rich don’t curry much favour outside of that limited social group, and one person who knows that better than most is Sofia Coppola. She writes what she knows but nonetheless, often cops flak for wading in shallow waters with her non-judgemental depictions of well-to-do young women/adolescent girls.
This tendency serves her well in telling the true story of the notorious gang of teen thieves who swiped US$3m worth of property from the houses of celebrities they stalked on the internet.
Coppola observes the sticky-fingered waifs in their natural habitat (home, school, Paris Hilton’s house)
The 2009 spree was immortalised in Nancy Jo Sales’ Vanity Fair article, 'The Suspects Wore Louboutins', which gave first-hand accounts of the Lindsay Lohan-worshippers who entered the homes of young Hollywood starlets and treated their walk-in wardrobes like a gifting suite. Memorable for exposing the audacity of the crime and for showing how much the perps considered their notoriety as a fast-track to fame, Sales' article forms the basis of The Bling Ring. Coppola observes the sticky-fingered waifs in their natural habitat (home, school, Paris Hilton’s house) with her trademark light touch.
The main action focuses on how Mark (Israel Broussard), a lonely gay teen with body dysmorphic tendencies, falls under the spell of the confident and commanding Becca (Katie Chang). Before long she co-opts him into helping her "get some Chanel", and Hervé Leger, and Christian Louboutin, and the remaining fashion week’s worth of designers namechecked in the film’s many, many montages. Emma Watson is the most recogniseable face in the crooked quintet; in her supporting role of Nicki, she poses for selfies, re-applies lip gloss, and pops Aderalls like breath mints.
Most of the time the thieves accessed the homes via an unlocked door or window, having accurately predicted that Paris Hilton is the kind of person "who would leave her keys under the mat". The oblivious socialite’s ignorance of her personal inventory made her a frequent target of The Bling Ring; they are seen to make several return visits to raid her closet, sip her vodka, and work the pole in her "nightclub room". On one occasion, Becca is talked out of helping herself the handbag dog. Hilton appears in a brief cameo (as does Kristen Dunst) and she also offered Coppola use of her home for the multiple scenes shot there; this trivial fact lends an extra layer of voyeuristic creepiness. (Hilton was also present at the premiere of the film here in Cannes).
One gripe: Coppola consistently struggles with ways to end her films (a problem I had with Somewhere) and here is no exception; a footnote attempts to editorialise but comes across as repetitive and unnecessary, and sits at odds with the rest of the film's neutral tone.
The late cinematographer Harris Savides (who passed away shortly after the film was completed, and for whom the film is dedicated), adopts a documentary style, incorporating CCTV night vision of the culprits jumping fences in their hoodies and heels. One memorable scene features a single slow-zoom from across a hill, as two of the team commit a real-time raid, going room-to-room in an entirely glass house. Other standout scenes include a sinister joy ride through the canyons "to go shopping", and a chance discovery that leads to moronic gunplay at Megan Fox’s house.
In Sales’ article the investigating officer wondered aloud, "Is wanting to wear somebody’s clothes that different from wanting to wrap yourself up in their skin?" Though that quote doesn’t make into the film, Coppola’s choice to play it straight helps to draw attention to that same pathological obsession that underpinned the crimes.
This review was first published in 2013. The Bling Ring is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
