The Bling Ring (2013) starring Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga directed by Sofia Coppola Movie Review

The Bling Ring (2013)   2/52/52/52/52/5


The Bling Ring (2013)

The Bling Was Missing

With a few too many absences, fashion conscious Marc (Israel Broussard) is placed in a school for wayward teens which is where he meets Rebecca (Katie Chang). Together they sneak in to the home of Paris Hilton one night, finding a way in using the internet and finding her keys under her mat. Their success leads to them returning with friends Nicki (Emma Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julien) working out when she will be attending some function and going through her belongings without a care in the world. But their escapades don't stop there as not only do they help themselves to a few things they start targeting other celebrities as well, posting their exploits on the internet.

I am sure the real story of these teens robbing celebrities is an interesting one, if it wasn't then it wouldn't have had an article written about it in Vanity Fair and in turn wouldn't have been turned in to a movie. Unfortunately the movie is a turkey and fails to make this story work to the point I have to say that watching paint dry for 90 minutes would be more interesting.

Now I will say that it isn't the fault of the young cast for "The Bling Ring" being a waste of time as they all play their characters well with Broussard giving sensitive without making his character camp whilst Emma Watson does a remarkably good job of playing it trashy with not only a tramp stamp but also grabbing your attention with a pole dancing scene. But whilst they all deliver their characters none of the characters are written with any depth meaning that those who watch this unaware of the story are left out in the cold.

So unfortunately for me the fault lies mainly with Sofia Coppola because her directing style makes this an utterly vacuous experience with the camera work failing to draw you in to the characters or what is happening. But there is also the use of interview scenes which take place I think a year after all the robbery which only spoil what little flow there is. Maybe for those who don't like mainstream Coppola's directing style will appeal with lengthy but pointless scenes of clubbing but it really didn't work for me.

What this all boils down to is that "The Bling Ring" really was a disappointment for me and was so cold and dull that it didn't take me long to start clock watching. Yes it has some memorable scenes but they end up few and far between.


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