What Keith's Watching: The Bling Ring (2013)

Another movie based on a true crime story, but unlike Pain & Gain, I enjoyed this one. It didn't feel like they were trying to make a Hollywood movie about what happened, but instead tell an authentic version of the events. The alleged criminals are never elevated to the heroes of the story and the victims are never the butt of a joke.

The Bling Ring gives us an in with one of the characters and makes us feel sympathetic to how he just got in over his head. He just wants to fit in and gets caught up in trying to do so. It's a feeling we can all relate to, so we don't feel completely out of sync with the movie. We understand why they're there. In fact, the movie does a great job in trying to help us understand that all the crimes boil down to that feeling of trying to fit in and get The Life. We all aspire to that level, so once we get it, it'd be hard to give up.

I also wonder if the thievery was really as easy as portrayed in the movie. It seemed like part of the reason they committed these crimes was the ease which they could. Doors and safes were unlocked. All the teens had to do was hop a fence and pull a handle. It doesn't make it okay, but makes me wonder what this group would have done if the doors had been locked and the keys unavailable.

The movie is beautifully directed by Sofia Coppola. There are times when you can see her learning from her father and even improving on style. The acting is great and Emma Watson is the real standout. She's almost unrecognizable. I never once thought of her as Hermoine Granger. Her performance was even better to me once my fiancee informed me she was the girl from Pretty Wild. A girl whose only reference to me is that clip from The Soup when the Vanity Fair article came out and Alexis Neiers had to repeatedly record a voicemail message to the reporter. (If you haven't seen the clip, you should.)

The Bling Ring is a great film that I think should be put up there with The Social Network as a window into what our society has become these days. Especially to younger generations. It shows the influence of the internet and fame and the idea that success is equivalent to the things we own. Somebody really needs to show these kids Fight Club.

VERDICT: Watch It

The aforementioned clip from The Soup: