The Bling Ring (2013)

Review of The Bling Ring

Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan. They are just a few names of people which form a daily source of news and gossip. You can read exactly what they are doing, where they went shopping and what kind of issues they have. Every outfit they where is analyzed and there are always enough stylists available to give their opinion about what they wear. A couple of those “stars” have not done a lot to be called that (for example the first two women became the middle of attention just because of their sex tapes). It is something I never understood. It is unbelievable that people with so little talent have become icons which everyone would seem to want to read about and even emulate. Still there are a lot of young people (and older ones too) who are very willing to spend a lot of money on a specific bag or a shoe because someone they look up to also has it. It is a form of materialism where a person hopes that having that item gives them status. The Bling Ring is about a group of young people, who would love to live the life of a star en instead of buying the items simply break into the houses of the stars to take what they want.

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Although the group is big the story is mainly about the relationship between Rebecca (Katie Chang) and Marc (Israel Boussard) who have met each other at school. During a moment of boredom they decide to see if there are any unlocked cars outside and if these cars have anything of value in them. It doesn’t take long for them to also start doing this in houses. They think big and decide they will also try to get into the houses of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan (among various others) where they are amazed by what they see and take whatever they want. It is a hunger which doesn’t seem to go away, which in the end has some serious consequences.

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The Bling Ring is based on an article in Vanity Fair and was written and directed by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, Marie Antoinette, Somewhere). After a very short introduction of the characters it does not take long before the movie starts to show the burglaries (which is really the biggest part of the running time). Little time is spent on giving the characters depth and it is up to the viewer to form their own opinion about this group. I thought that they looked as shallow as the people they admired. They party and post pictures on Facebook to show what they have. The repetition of these type of scenes will anoy some, but I thought it was a bit hypnotising. The movie has a very clean look and it is obvious that a lot of time was spent on the wardrobe of the characters, making the movie almost look like a fashion commercial. The Bling Ring isn’t for everyone, but it shows that the obsession with celebrities can lead to extremes, where image seems to be more important than the real person behind it.

10 thoughts on “The Bling Ring (2013)

  1. I’m in a big minority about this film as I was one of those that had a ball watching this. For me, it’s Sofia Coppola’s most accessible work since The Virgin Suicides and I’m convinced that this film is part of a trilogy with Somewhere about Hollywood and celebrity culture.

  2. The Bling Ring certainly isn’t for everyone, but I thought it was very relevant. I enjoyed it, but wished Coppola had given a tad more depth or insight to the characters…it fell flat there sticking strictly to the facts. Good review!

  3. Looking forward to checking this one out. I read a few reviews where folks seemed to have a hard time believing that the characters could be so idiotic and shallow. Those folks must have never been to LA.

  4. I’m thinking of making a sex tape just so I can be as famous, stupid and inane as the women you mention in the opener.

    Oh right… I have a penis, so I can’t. 🙁

    Nice review, Nostra – I’m keen to see this, even though I’m not generally a must-watch fan of Coppola’s stuff (Lost In translation was good though) and the main draw for me is Emma Watson. I’ve heard good reports about her performance here.

    • Hahaha, please don’t Rodney!

      Thanks. I’m not the biggest Coppola fan either, but I am always interested to see her movies as she has a unique style. Emma Watson’s role is not huge, but I think she was pretty good.

  5. I guess yeah, these kids ended up being as shallow as their idols. It’s a bit sad for me, because they could do something more. Like I said in my review, I don’t know who’s to blame. Maybe it’s just a inevitable culture, but they should be guided somehow.

    The characters like to mix and match their clothes a lot, it’s their thing. Maybe that’s why it looked like a commercial?

    • Yeah, they waste their potential. I guess it’s a combination of things including their parents, the people they hang out with and the search for something extreme to do.

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