The Bling Ring (Sofia Coppola, 2013)

[The Narrator Returns]

Let's get this out of the way first; The Bling Ring shares little in common with any other film Sofia Coppola has made yet. Occasionally, there are parallels (a few moments reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides, here and there), but otherwise, the only thing this shares in common with those films is its look at celebrity. In the previous films, celebrity was seen as being a horribly lonely place, which does nothing but isolate people from others, and themselves. Here, we follow the exploits of a group of teens who just want to be celebrities. The ringleader, Rebecca (Katie Chang), idolizes the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton (the group travels to Paris's house many times during the course of the film). If living like them entails stealing their stuff, then so be it. The one character in the film who could be considered innocent is Marc (Israel Broussard), because he just happens to make the exact wrong friend when he shows up for his first day of school. The rest of the characters range from vapid (Taissa Farmiga as Sam), even more vapid (Claire Julien as Chloe), to unbelievably vapid (Emma Watson as Nicki). They all carry out sloppy burglaries, don't give second thought to the presence of security cameras, and don't bother keeping their mouths shut about the burglaries. They just want to be like Paris, and Lindsay, and Orlando Bloom, and Audrina Patridge, and Megan Fox, and Rachel Bilson. Nothing personal.

The film is goes all in with its portrayal of those involved in the Bling Ring. The gorgeous cinematography (more on that later) is mixed in with webcam images, surveillance cameras, photos of Facebook pages, news footage, and videos from the internet. We get cameos by Kirsten Dunst (I imagine Coppola didn't have to be too persuasive when getting her to be in the film), and Paris Hilton herself, who also allowed her house to be used as a location (given that the film seems to suggest that the house is a shrine to herself, I'm surprised Paris allowed this, but then again, she didn't seem to pick up on this when she gave her thoughts on the film). There is no stone left unturned when it comes to the depiction of celebrity. Even though the film makes no bones about its protagonists being completely vapid, we still are drawn into their lifestyles, and it's disorienting when they start falling apart. It's a thorough film, which I know may make it sound exhausting, but it's also really enjoyable. And it has Emma Watson on a stripper pole.

Grade: A-

Stray Observations:

- Speaking of Emma Watson, she gets many of the film's laughs. Just look at the scene where she's being interviewed, and she can't stand how her new-agey mother (Leslie Mann) keeps talking when she could be talking. Or her plugging her website at the very end of the film.

- So, about that cinematography. The film starts by dedicating itself to Harris Savides, who sadly died before production was finished. Thankfully, the film contains some great work by him (and Christopher Blauvelt, who finished the film), including some scenes which I will discuss below. In the ranking of his work, I'd put it in the middle, below his work on Gus Van Sant's Death Trilogy, and his other film with Coppola, Somewhere, but far above the likes of American Gangster and Illuminata. And it's a better send-off than Restless, I can say that much.

- Great Shot #1: The burglary at Audrina Patridge's house. The camera never enters the house, and stays at a distance, slowly panning in on the action occurring inside. It was Savides' favorite shot in the movie.

- Great Shot #2: Any scene in Nicki's house. The lighting in particular is beautiful, almost translucent. I wish I could frame some of those scenes on my wall.

- Great Shot #3: The scene at Chloe's house before she is arrested. The camera never moves, staying put as Chloe enjoys breakfast with her family. Everything in the house has golden tones. We hear police sirens, and one of the dogs begins to bark. We never see the police enter the house.

- I'm glad that I finally know Taissa Farmiga from something other than her turn (which, to be fair, was far above any other turn that season) on the first season of American Horror Story.

[FakeBonanza]

I found The Bling Ring to be entirely satisfying. The cinematography is the only place to begin--it's the real star of the film. This is a gorgeously photographed picture and a worthy swan song for Harris Savides. The previously mentioned single, long, slow zoom take of a robbery is a standout scene not just in the film but in Savides' body of work. It's a testament to his talents that it was devised entirely by him.

As terrific as the cinematography is, I don't have a complaint about the film's presentation. The editing, music, and sound design all contribute to the experience. One of my favourite shot sequences successfully combines all of the film's best elements:

SpoilerShow

After drinking in Paris' club room, we get a long shot of three characters driving. The camera is on the passenger door and we watch the driver, Chloe, sing along with Kanye West. Suddenly, we see the lights of an oncoming car, which cuts just as it hits the drivers side. The cut is to Chloe pouting while having her mugshot taken, then it cuts immediately to her at school, bragging to the others about just how drunk she was.

Coppola's greatest gift is as a visual stylist, and I wonder if returning to adaption allowed her a certain freedom to concentrate on her strengths as a filmmaker. She's often criticized for the similarities in her two original screenplays, but any parallels The Bling Ring has with her other work are purely superficial. I think that anyone who complains about her repeating herself again on this film is just looking for something to criticize.

I found all of the performances to be spot on, with Israel Broussard giving the standout performance. I appreciated that, in Marc, we're giving a sympathetic lead without him being forced on us. In fact, nothing in The Bling Ring feels forced on the viewer. The objectivity of Coppola's camera highlights one of the essential facts of this story: that not one of the kids fully understood the severity of their crimes.

Going in, I wasn't thrilled about the subject matter of The Bling Ring, but I'm always at least curious about Coppola's projects. With this film, Coppola has managed to elevate the material significantly. I'm not sure another director could have handled it with such deftness.

[Andre Jurieu]

Based on the mediocre-to-negative reviews, I had low expectations for this film. Thankfully, that probably helped me appreciate the efforts of Coppola and her crew a little more.

Truthfully, my initial impressions of this as I was walking out of the theatre (and I'm certain this will raise some eye-brows and cause some to question my taste) was that it's the best homage to Goodfellas I've seen in a long time (possibly ever, considering how much I detest extended homages to Goodfellas that take themselves way too seriously). Of course, after one viewing, I'm not sure it's as layered or substantial as Goodfellas, but it has its own updated version of the concepts of priesthood/worship, as well as some of the same concerns with the seductive nature of cinema/media and idea of everyone acting within a self-absorbed culture. The characters aren't as strong and the details aren't as prominent, but it still works incredible well as a snap-shot examination of this culture.

The performances kind of teeter on the tight-rope between authentic and affected, but they always seem to make sense within the context of the film and the culture they are portraying. I was actually surprisingly impressed with Emma Watson, Katie Chang, and Claire Julien (not so much with Mr. Stefani). And Leslie Mann is awesome, but at this point I get the feeling she could do this type of role while in a coma.

And it has Emma Watson on a stripper pole.

Not sure why, but I just don't find Watson sexy. I think it's cause her facial features are just so adolescent - which actually works incredibly well for this role.

Also, it's crazy that E! had a reality-show about some of these girls.

[TheDudeAbides]

this film actually made it to my local theater, I'm hoping to get a chance to see it this week. While the subject matter does not appeal to me one bit, if Sofia Coppola tells this in a style somewhat similar to Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers like I am expecting, then I might find it enjoyable.

[Professor Wagstaff]

I'm more mixed on The Bling Ring, mostly due to the third act, though I really responded to the way in which Coppola keeps herself at a distance from the actions of the kids and chooses not to moralize, acting only as an observer of the reckless behavior. Perhaps the tensest scene for me

SpoilerShow

was the discovery of the gun at Megan Fox's home. The way in which Taissa Farmiga took so much pleasure in keeping the gun circling just under Israel Broussard's chin was nerve-wracking, more so because of how clearly the brandishing of a deadly weapon was treated by her as a superficial act just like their other bad decisions.

[Black Hat]

Coppola keeps herself at a distance from the actions of the kids and chooses not to moralize, acting only as an observer of the reckless behavior.

I don't see it this way at all. I felt she had contempt and was completely condescending towards her characters. Now this could be because Coppola is among our most vapid filmmakers who never has anything substantive to say despite tackling material where many a statement can be made or it can be an issue of self loathing because Coppola is from this world of privilege and decadence that she so often pointlessly mocks. The reality is that as a filmmaker she is the personification of the people she can't stand; very pretty, lots of style but zero substance.

[warren oates]

Agree with Wagstaff, strenuously disagree with Black Hat. Coppola may be from that world, but she's certainly not wholly of it. She can appreciate fashion without being reductively equated with aimless rich kids whose lack of self-awareness, absence of self-discipline and huge sense of entitlement is off the charts. If Sofia Coppola was born lucky, she certainly hasn't squandered her position. The Bling Ringers imagine themselves worthy of the stuff they steal because they are so mindlessly, lazily privileged to begin with. They can't conceive of the necessity of hard work, of learning a business or a craft, of having a vision of their own and making something out of it. They imagine themselves already eminently prequalified to have their own fashion lines just by virtue of wanting it.

The Bling Ring is not a great film, but perhaps a better one that just about anyone else would have done (Larry Clark, for instance or Lifetime Movie Network), and probably better than the subject matter deserves. There is plenty of deadpan black humor in the film but it seems less about looking down on the characters than observing them honestly. If Paris Hilton's house, the kids' parents or the kids themselves often seem literally ridiculous to us it's because they pretty much objectively are. The distance Wagstaff cites makes this feel closer to something like a strange hybrid of teen ethnography and docudrama more akin to, say, the best TV movie ever, the kind of thing Van Sant's Elephant was initially supposed to be.

It's hard for me to see how it would be possible (or interesting) to make the sort of searing message movie Black Hat seems to want out of this. This is a story of shallow spoiled kids who do lots of bad things for the worst reasons and get off way too easily -- having either learned nothing at all or exactly the wrong lesson. I suppose you wish the film had been intercut Crash [Haggis] style with burglars from South Central, stealing to put food on the table, who get incarcerated for decades? Or some grand meta statement about the pernicious influence of celebrity culture and reality TV?

[wigwam]

Spring Breakers went that other way but this does what I was hoping both films would and encapsulates the vacuousness and superficiality that any boring young fuck can mimic and Belong and Get Friended. This also nails the tone of Pretty Wild and girls thinking in TMZ segments and purse ads they cut out of magazines and paste around their mirrors. There's a couple shots of faces that I found howlingly hilarious and terrifyingly earnest: the first is when the ringleader girl sprays some celeb's perfume on herself in slo-mo and then stares at herself in the mirror in perfect orgasmic disbelief, and then the other is the polar opposite where the camera turns from a computer screen evidencing a de-friending and the de-friended's face decays from confusion to a hurt so deep it nearly transcends the skin that is all he considers himself to be. Beyond schadenfreude (as if anything matters beyond that, but...) there is also so much beautiful Savides swansongness, an overwhelming white overexposed sun punctuated by palm trees, a signature underexposure of silhouettes traipsing across a bruise-texture shadowy foreground as the lights of LA twinkle behind them. Sofia has also put together for me her most satisfying incident-heavy push-pull tension-laden film as I caught myself nail-pickingly breathless during a few different burglary sequences (each brilliantly shot with their own character like Raging Bull's boxing matches), which surprised me and was an added bonus to the film's primary ephemeral atmospherics which situate this beautifully in her filmography.

[Black Hat]

Coppola may be from that world, but she's certainly not wholly of it. She can appreciate fashion without being reductively equated with aimless rich kids whose lack of self-awareness, absence of self-discipline and huge sense of entitlement is off the charts. If Sofia Coppola was born lucky, she certainly hasn't squandered her position. The Bling Ringers imagine themselves worthy of the stuff they steal because they are so mindlessly, lazily privileged to begin with. They can't conceive of the necessity of hard work, of learning a business or a craft, of having a vision of their own and making something out of it. They imagine themselves already eminently prequalified to have their own fashion lines just by virtue of wanting it.

That's just the thing tho, Coppola herself lacks the self-awareness of those she consistently portrays. What do you mean by not having squandered her position? What exactly has she done with her good fortune? Make a couple of pretty looking films, with hip soundtracks that nobody cares about or will remember outside of one Bill Murray performance, if even that given the quality of his amazing career. Lost In Translation was a blatantly racist film portraying self indulgent, self absorbed immensely unlikeable people. Somewhere might as well have been an R. Kelly video with white people. It seems to me Coppola only knows how to make films that make fun of her friends.

The Bling Ringers imagine themselves worthy of the stuff they steal because they are so mindlessly, lazily privileged to begin with. They can't conceive of the necessity of hard work, of learning a business or a craft, of having a vision of their own and making something out of it. They imagine themselves already eminently prequalified to have their own fashion lines just by virtue of wanting it.

See I think that this reading of the film is projecting your own pre conceived notions of who these kids were than anything Coppola showed us. Even if I were to give you that, this is still not an interesting story. What makes this story interesting, what makes this story interesting enough to be made into a movie beyond the how, which was simple to achieve, was the why? There were so many opportunities, from Rebecca's strict upbringing to Marc's bizarre, somewhat high on some prescription drug father to the two sisters and the mom, for Coppola to dig deeper, to give us something of interest but no every time she had to cut to some cool looking night vision shot, facebook pics or her self indulgent music video sequences.

It's hard for me to see how it would be possible (or interesting) to make the sort of searing message movie Black Hat seems to want out of this. This is a story of shallow spoiled kids who do lots of bad things for the worst reasons and get off way too easily -- having either learned nothing at all or exactly the wrong lesson. I suppose you wish the film had been intercut Crash [Haggis] style with burglars from South Central, stealing to put food on the table, who get incarcerated for decades? Or some grand meta statement about the pernicious influence of celebrity culture and reality TV?

I said I wanted a message movie??? Seems like you enjoy projecting words into people's mouths with equal aplomb as you do stories with terrible films.

[warren oates]

Even if I were to give you that, this is still not an interesting story. What makes this story interesting, what makes this story interesting enough to be made into a movie beyond the how, which was simple to achieve, was the why? There were so many opportunities, from Rebecca's strict upbringing to Marc's bizarre, somewhat high on some prescription drug father to the two sisters and the mom, for Coppola to dig deeper, to give us something of interest but no every time she had to cut to some cool looking night vision shot, facebook pics or her self indulgent music video sequences.

You can blame the characters for their lack of depth, but don't blame the filmmaker. If the Bling Ringers' motivations seem shallow and insufficient to you, I'd argue that it's because they reflect the reality of the situation. No amount of junk TV, bad parenting, substance abuse or New Age philosophy can illuminate the burglaries by uncovering some hidden, nuanced meaning in them. The truth is that these kids and their crimes are exceptionally shallow. There's nothing deeper driving them. Assuming there are more complex motivations that Coppola's deliberately ignoring seems silly to me.

[Black Hat]

The truth is that these kids and their crimes are exceptionally shallow. There's nothing deeper driving them.

I don't agree with this at all but lets say that you're correct, why on earth would you tell a story or make a film about exceptionally shallow people who have zero motive for doing anything? You seem to be making my case for me.

[warren oates]

It's not that they have zero motive. It's that their motives are all right there on the surface. And that the film is far less concerned with plumbing the inner lives of its individual characters (psychology) than with capturing the outward details of the group (anthropology). There's a gaudy poetry to the kids' intense superficiality -- something that wigwam captures well in his post. That's where Coppola's put her energy and attention. And that's what makes the film way more interesting to me than it would be if it tried a more conventional approach to telling a juvenile delinquent story that isn't all that interesting from the standpoint of traditional drama.

[Luke M]

Black Hat summed up my thoughts on this film and Coppola better than I possibly could. Though I'm actually particularly fond of her filmography though this was easily her weakest film. Regarding Coppola, I feel like she has some kind of Hollywood rich girl guilt and so she tries to make this movie about Hollywood rich girls but doesn't decide what to say. It's like she's very excited to stand up at a mic but then freezes up and sits back down.

The most disappointing thing for me was the lack of focus on the characters. It's like Coppola felt like she was forced to make it about Katie Chang and Israel Broussard but she really wanted to make it about Emma Watson. It's like there's this tug-of-war going on between an obligation to tell the real story and the story she wants to tell. Unfortunately, she gets her way in the third act and that's when it really falls apart.

[ianthemovie]

I really enjoyed this, even if it's not quite as strong as some of Coppola's earlier films. I see a lot of thematic continuity here with her other films: poking fun at Hollywood celebrity culture, of course (cf. Somewhere and Lost in Translation) but also excessive consumption and scandal (lots of parallels with Marie Antoinette, right down to the montage sequences), and the private lives of teenage girls, which we get in The Virgin Suicides as well as Coppola's student film Lick the Star.

For me, the use of a "distant" tone worked quite well. It would have been completely boring for Coppola to step in at the last minute and do a lot of finger-wagging or railing against Facebook or TMZ. As in Marie Antoinette, she seems more amused and quietly fascinated by this subject matter than outraged, which I for one appreciated. And yes, it looks gorgeous, too.

[FakeBonanza]

I'm more mixed on The Bling Ring, mostly due to the third act, though I really responded to the way in which Coppola keeps herself at a distance from the actions of the kids and chooses not to moralize, acting only as an observer of the reckless behavior.

It's like Coppola felt like she was forced to make it about Katie Chang and Israel Broussard but she really wanted to make it about Emma Watson. It's like there's this tug-of-war going on between an obligation to tell the real story and the story she wants to tell. Unfortunately, she gets her way in the third act and that's when it really falls apart.

I do agree that the third act stands out as not only being relatively weak, but also more conventional in every aspect. Most troubling was the inclusion of the "Kate from Vanity Fair" character. Inserting her directly into the film seemed to me a bizarre decision, as this is the only character in the entire film from outside its own "world". And it does seem that Coppola inserted her only for the purpose of having a receiver for certain dialogue that she decided she couldn't live without. This is particularly true of the interview with Emma Watson's character for the reason Luke mentioned. It's as if Coppola simply needed to find a way to give that character her moment. I was also bothered that these interviews were the only scenes, that I can recall, in which coverage was used. It disrupted the visual language of the film to go from the carefully considered compositions of the first two acts, to conventional back-and-forth sequences with an interviewer who is essentially a non-character.

Even to have staged interview sequences without cutting to the interviewer, or hearing the questions, would have been preferable.

Perhaps the tensest scene for me was

SpoilerShow

the discovery of the gun at Megan Fox's home. The way in which Taissa Farmiga took so much pleasure in keeping the gun circling just under Israel Broussard's chin was nerve-wracking, more so because of how clearly the brandishing of a deadly weapon was treated by her as a superficial act just like their other bad decisions.

I agree that this scene was incredibly tense for the reasons you mentioned. It is also a perfect example of the how effectively the objectivity of the film's perspective communicates the experiences of its characters. Narratively it is not treated as a climactic event (despite our reaction to it), and ultimately, for both the film and its characters, this event is no more significant than any other scene during the first two acts.

[Andre Jurieu]

Most troubling was the inclusion of the "Kate from Vanity Fair" character. Inserting her directly into the film seemed to me a bizarre decision, as this is the only character in the entire film from outside its own "world". And it does seem that Coppola inserted her only for the purpose of having a receiver for certain dialogue that she decided she couldn't live without. This is particularly true of the interview with Emma Watson's character for the reason Luke mentioned. It's as if Coppola simply needed to find a way to give that character her moment. I was also bothered that these interviews were the only scenes, that I can recall, in which coverage was used. It disrupted the visual language of the film to go from the carefully considered compositions of the first two acts, to conventional back-and-forth sequences with an interviewer who is essentially a non-character.

Even to have staged interview sequences without cutting to the interviewer, or hearing the questions, would have been preferable.

I do like the suggestion of conducting the interview without cutting to the interviewer in order to maintain the established perspective of the film. However, I think having the interviewer show up is kind of important is establishing that the perspective of the events has shifted slightly and is no longer entirely insular. At this point, the characters must now function as subjects being examined and each has to adopt a new persona for a more public profile - because TV is a different level of celebrity than Facebook, with its own set of rules (which is why I thought it was strange not to include the reality-TV element of this story, though that might have also been overkill). I also thought the VF reporter kind of functioned in the same way as the cop providing the deal to Henry and Karen at the end of Goodfellas - it signifies that the insular world these characters functioned within and which they believed provided them some measure of immunity has no been intruded upon and is forever broken. The difference here is that The Bling Ring characters still believe they can manipulate this new perspective for their own personal gain, while Henry knows his fantasy-life is now destroyed.

[colinr0380]

I have not yet seen the film but I’ve kind of had thoughts about the film rolling around in my head since reading the Sight & Sound review of it.

The more I hear about the film, the more I wonder how it can be related to the early Coppola films such as Lost In Translation, Somewhere, even Marie Antoinette. Bling Ring is full of characters living their lives vicariously through celebrity culture but beyond the conspicuous consumption there is that sense of wondering whether they want to be like their idols or actually be them, to quote Brad Pitt in that Assassination of Jesse James film. However unlike the Jesse James film, previous Sofia Coppola films have shown that once you get to that lofty, elevated position surrounded by transient trappings of fame such as lackeys, beautiful objects and being chauffeured to engagements, what the hell is there to actually do (except work harder for less point)? To be? To have in your life?

In that sense I wonder if the girls (and boy) in Bling Ring are hanging onto a beautiful death wish. It sounds as if they are being presented as blank clothing store dummies, just existing to show off what they are wearing (even invading a celebrity’s house, posing in front of the mirror and applying perfume is less about the person doing it but about the beauty of the mirror, the fine mist of perfume, and so on. The girl in the publicity still for the film could be anyone, or even a model in an advert, posing in just the correct manner to show off the products in their best light) . Once they achieve fame they don’t need to exist for themselves anymore. They’ll be in a gilded prison of privilege and expectations of fame. But they have abandoned any sense of achieving anything in their normal lives, or any attempt at trying to produce anything of worth (everything, even lifestyles, have been produced somewhere else), to get a piece of the pre-packaged lives sold to them through reality television. I wonder if that could be the inherent tragedy of the film, and something the people involved in the real events do not seem to have come to terms with even now, as they glory in ‘prison chic’/notoriety.

I also wonder about the use of the boy in the group – hopefully someone will tell me if this happens but I’m curious as to whether much is made of his gender? That he will be treated differently for that – used by the girls, perhaps semi-consciously as the fall guy for when they inevitably get caught, and probably treated differently by the authorities for that?

[sighkingu]

When it come down to it Ms. Coppola is for me strictly a music video director. She has a sharp eye for design, beautiful faces, clothing, architecture, soundtrack but misses the mark when it comes to the story and more often than not the acting as well. Beautifully shot scenes of pretty people over atmospheric music followed by short scenes of clunky dialogue and often juvenile humor. It all feels like an American Apparel ad or something.

One positive note that stuck with me was the soundtrack. I could take or leave the new music the kids listened to but most of the tracks seemed right; the original score by Brian Reitzell was haunting. It reminded me very much of the soundtrack and score to Over the Edge, which is a mix of top forty rock tunes and a synthesizer heavy score by Sol Kaplan.

I think Ms. Coppola is kind of copping out in her stance of these kids. She ought to just fully glamorize or criticize. I don't mind a film taking an outsider's view of a crime but this one wants to have its cake and eat it too. I recall reading a recent interview with her where she says she hasn't watched reality television except Keeping up with the Kardashians. It would be like saying one hasn't tried fast food except McDonald's.

[hearthesilence]

When it come down to it Ms. Coppola is for me strictly a music video director. She has a sharp eye for design, beautiful faces, clothing, architecture, soundtrack but misses the mark when it comes to the story and more often than not the acting as well. Beautifully shot scenes of pretty people over atmospheric music followed by short scenes of clunky dialogue and often juvenile humor. It all feels like an American Apparel ad or something.

Bull's eye.

It's disappointing because after Lost in Translation came out, I remember defending that film against some of my friends who felt it was merely a good-looking film of dubious merit, at best a showcase for Bill Murray and the disorientation of dislocation in another time zone. Since then, it's become more and more difficult to argue against her staunchest detractors, and after this, I pretty much gave up trying. Her talks don't really help - it can be difficult seeing her discuss her work in public, partly because you get the feeling she's very uncomfortable talking in public (she's almost on par with Paul Metzler in Election), but mostly because she doesn't have a whole lot of meaningful insight to give through her work.

[Zot!]

You mention the music, and it's funny because Pitchfork had an interview with her and her music supervisor...who I expected simply cleared rights for her or something. It seems rather that he is the defacto tastemaker and actually chooses the music himself. Only surprising because I had assumed that she's at least styling these othewise vacant films herself. More and more she appears like a well-connected curator of other peoples talents than an auteur to me.

[Brian C]

I think Ms. Coppola is kind of copping out in her stance of these kids. She ought to just fully glamorize or criticize. I don't mind a film taking an outsider's view of a crime but this one wants to have its cake and eat it too.

I'm having trouble making sense of this series of statements. You don't mind a film taking an outsider's view, but this one is copping out by doing so, because...?

[Andre Jurieu]

I also wonder about the use of the boy in the group – hopefully someone will tell me if this happens but I’m curious as to whether much is made of his gender? That he will be treated differently for that – used by the girls, perhaps semi-consciously as the fall guy for when they inevitably get caught, and probably treated differently by the authorities for that?

Well, they focus a considerable amount of attention on him, since he's basically the protagonist of the film. They make it obvious that he's the only male to maintain a consistent position within the group as he is basically one of their two founders. He is allowed more of a sympathetic portrayal than the rest of the ring, but they are also quite explicit with the fact that he's pretty much just as clueless about the shallow-nature of his perceptions. The only real difference is that he's far more cognizant that they could be caught for their crimes (though he shares a lack of comprehension about security cameras with his female cohorts).

I didn't really get the sense that they attempted to make his gender an overt focus of the film, but they do call attention to it in subtle ways every so often, mostly because it seems unavoidable while he's interacting with group comprised primarily of females. They also make it clear that he's somewhat effeminate and make some obvious hints at his sexual orientation. I'm not sure he's treated differently by the authorities, though his arrest is treated a bit differently than his female counterparts by the filmmakers, as it's far more brief and standard compared to the hysterics or tranquility when some of the other members of the ring are arrested. He seems more easily manipulated through flattery by the VF reporter than the other members of the ring, who seem far more determined to control their interviews (the success of these attempts is thwarted since their techniques aren't exactly subtle). There is a underlying sense that he is being subtly manipulated by the girls, but it's not exactly a situation where he's unaware of their persuasion and scheming, or the group's influence on his behaviour. Though he briefly functions as the "fall-guy" (it's over in a blink), he's also quite aware of his actions, but doesn't seem to care much about the consequences other than the possibility of incarceration. In some ways he's basically a devoted fan of these girls, probably because he's like most teenagers who pine for acceptance by a group.

her music supervisor...who I expected simply cleared rights for her or something. It seems rather that he is the defacto tastemaker and actually chooses the music himself...

This pretty much describes the functions and responsibilities of a music-supervisor. While directors sometimes have very specific ideas in mind for which pieces of music they want to use for certain sequences, it's the music supervisors that generally takes instructions from the director on what is trying to achieved, watch the footage, and select a bunch of different pieces that they feel might fit with the sequence. They then usually collaborate with the director to review the choices and fit in the exact pieces for the final product. It's not like Coppola is watching the film at the premiere and shocked that they didn't include more of her favorite Pink and Rihanna songs. There are some fairly talented music supervisors out there who don't get the credit they deserve for their choices simply because they work with directors that are considered hip auteurs that have great musical taste. Those directors usually do have good taste in music, though it's the music that's selected by their music supervisors, who bring the director a bunch of different material to be confirmed.

[Zot!]

her music supervisor...who I expected simply cleared rights for her or something. It seems rather that he is the defacto tastemaker and actually chooses the music himself...

This pretty much describes the functions and responsibilities of a music-supervisor. While directors sometimes have very specific ideas in mind for which pieces of music they want to use for certain sequences, it's the music supervisors that generally takes instructions from the director on what is trying to achieved, watch the footage, and select a bunch of different pieces that they feel might fit with the sequence. They then usually collaborate with the director to review the choices and fit in the exact pieces for the final product. It's not like Coppola is watching the film at the premiere and shocked that they didn't include more of her favorite Pink and Rihanna songs. There are some fairly talented music supervisors out there who don't get the credit they deserve for their choices simply because they work with directors that are considered hip auteurs that have great musical taste. Those directors usually do have good taste in music, though it's the music that's selected by their music supervisors, who bring the director a bunch of different material to be confirmed.

I understand that, and obviously music can have just as much a commerical impact as product placement, but I had somehow given Sofia the benefit of the doubt that at least she was an accomplished hanger of window dressing, considering how skeptical I am of her other talents. I'm decidedly not a fan of Wes Anderson, but at least he's got some sort of aesthetic authorship over his films that is his own.

[Andre Jurieu]

I'm not understanding how having Reitzell bring Coppola a bunch of different music selections somehow negates Coppola specific choices of what dressing she decides to hang in her movies (er.. windows? So many metaphors). This sounds like the same process used by most filmmakers. Reitzell might be more forceful and vocal during their Pitchfork interview, but I assume that's also a function of the fact that Coppola is fairly timid and coy during interviews and Reitzell seems (unsurprisingly) passionate about music and the process of having their musical choices for the film blessed by the artists that perform these songs (considering the number of raps songs used in the film, it's an impressive accomplishment considering the film production has no real solid ties to the hip-hop community). Coppola has chosen to collaborate with Reitzell, and that's a specific and deliberate decision she made as the director of this film.

I also fail to see how Coppola does not have a clear aesthetic ownership over her films that is her own, or how Reitzell's contribution (whether or not it is significant and impressive) to her film somehow negates her aesthetic ownership of the film. While you can certainly argue whether or not you enjoy her projects, I think Coppola's signature on any of her films so far is fairly distinctive and obvious. Why is Wes Anderson the clear aesthetic owner of his film when his films are so heavily influenced by Randall Poster's contributions to the music that accompanies the images that Robert Yeoman has been tasked to film and Dylan Tichenor has edited together in some coherent fashion?

[Robert de la Cheyniest]

Also funny that Wes Anderson is singled out considering he has used Randall Poster as a music supervisor on nearly all of his films (and he's a fantastic music supervisor)