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Plot Summary
From Oscar award winning writer and director Sofia Coppola, THE BLING RING tells the story of a group of teenagers obsessed with fashion and celebrity that burglarize celebrities’ homes in Los Angeles. Tracking their targets' whereabouts online, they break-in and steal their designer clothes and possessions. Reflecting on the naiveté of youth and the mistakes we all make when young, amplified by today's culture of celebrity and luxury brand obsession, we see through the members of the Bling Ring temptations that almost any teenager would feel. What starts out as teenage fun spins out of control and leaves us with a sobering view of our culture today. THE BLING RING stars Emma Watson alongside incredible new talent Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Claire Julien, and Taissa Farmiga. The film also features Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale, and real-life Bling Ring victim, Paris Hilton. It is based on the Vanity Fair article The Suspects Wore Louboutins by Nancy Jo Sales.
Credits
Director
Screenwriter
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
60%- Reviews Counted: 181
- Fresh: 109
- Rotten: 72
- Average Rating: 6.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Daring to face these often noxious, seemingly empty phenomena on aesthetic terms, and taking on a degree of their flatness and simplicity, Coppola renders them surprisingly substantial.
Rotten: Coppola neither makes a case for her characters nor places them inside of some kind of moral or critical framework; they simply pass through the frame, listing off name brands and staring at their phones.
Rotten: All the characters are shallow and one-dimensional and, while one can argue that this is the point, it doesn't make for 90 minutes of engaging cinema.
Fresh: s Coppola offering a critique (a stated hope) or somehow being complicit? These questions seem to coil in on themselves, making The Bling Ring that weird yet common hybrid of tsk-tsking and celebration.
Customer Reviews
AN ENTERTAINING BUT STRANGELY EMPTY FILM
"The Bling Ring," the latest film from Sofia Coppola, has a genuinely intriguing premise that's ripped straight from the headlines: a group of fashion-obsessed teens decide to burglarize the homes of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, stealing their designer clothes and possessions, and actually getting away with it (at least until the cops eventually catch up to their antics). It's definitely an exciting, topical story, and Coppola does her best to expose how materialistic and self-absorbed our modern culture has become, but not enough attention is ever put into the characters. It's an issue that unfortunately never comes around to fixing itself, as we follow these five shallow young people invading homes, taking as many items as they can carry, and indulging in drugs without any remorse at all. We're never allowed to look past the artifice and see the human souls inside, if there even are any. But even with that one glaring fault, at least the performances are entertaining. Emma Watson gives a standout performance as a spoiled, self-obsessed teen who considers herself the center of the universe, although surprisingly enough, she's not the ringleader of this group. That would be breakout star Katie Chang, who perfectly portrays one of the most detestably vapid characters ever put on screen. Israel Broussard's role, while certainly a lot more relatable and sympathetic than his co-stars as the new kid in school who's just trying to find a way to fit in, isn't nearly given enough of a chance to prove himself as the well-realized protagonist he could've been, but in a movie like this, you take what you can get. As for the script, it's nicely written to an extent, but it almost feels too repetitive and straightforward, making me wish it could've truly delved beneath the thin surface of its characters and given us a better understanding of their intentions. But is that to say this film is completely flawed? Of course not. It actually boasts some of the best cinematography I've seen in any art house film in a while. Some of the camera techniques are bravely unique, and the visuals of Los Angeles are simply gorgeous. The soundtrack is an added bonus, as it's filled with catchy singles from artists ranging from Kanye West to Azealia Banks. At the end of the day, "The Bling Ring" isn't a film for everybody. It's a polarizing, often unflinching look at the excess of fame and celebrity culture through the eyes of five misguided teens. Yes, it's far from perfect, and some of the narrative flaws do end up dragging this film down a bit, but if you're a fan of Coppola's pictures, witty deadpan humor, and tabloid teenage culture, it's worth checking out.
Bling Ring
Somehow this movie was so hollow that it made me not care. I didn't care about the characters, the victims, I didn't even care enough to want to finish watching it. I had read the Vanity Fair article when it came out & I also watched the reality show of one of the characters.The movie pulled directly from those sources but, nothing more!
Thumbs down
Saw this in the theater because of Emma Watson and sounded like interesting plot but was not worth it. Boring and empty with inconclusive ending- not worth your time. Most of the movie showed characters partying endlessly.
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Available Bundle
- Spring Breakers + The Bling Ring Double Feature
- Genre: Comedy
- Released: Mar 25, 2014
- View In iTunes
Also Available
- The Bling Ring (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- explicit
- Various Artists