The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola brings us this inspired by true story movie. Rebecca (Katie Chang), and new kid Marc (Israel Broussard) go to dropout school Indian Hills. She's a petty thief and he gets sucked up into her world. They break into people's home when they're away. Soon their friends Chloe (Claire Julien), Nicki (Emma Watson) and Sam (Taissa Farmiga) join in the Bling Ring.

This is a damning portrayal of superficial vapid kids. The problem is that they're actually very boring with their self-indulgent celebrity-obsessed lives. It may be that Coppola is making a statement, but the jabs need to be much sharper. It's interesting to see the unabashed consumerism for about 15 minutes but the constant flood of fashionista names gets tired. The long takes do nothing but add to the sense of superficiality. Maybe that's the point. The narrative goes nowhere. The story is basically laid out by the first 5 minutes if not sooner. There is a change when they're arrested. Emma Watson is especially good in this part. I just wish that the movie isn't 95% pre-arrest. The characters are too similar before their arrest anyways. They all talk the same and act the same. They need a jolt in their system to bring out something deeper.