Gazing upon the trailer for “Somewhere,” the new Sofia Coppola movie that appears to be about a dad (Stephen Dorff) building a lovely relationship with his suddenly-appearing tweener daughter (Elle Fanning), one can’t help but be struck by the gauzy fairytale reverie — much like the dreamstate feel of “The Virgin Suicides” and “Lost in Translation.” Am I looking forward to this movie? Very much.
On the other hand: Is indie kind of, well, dead? Indie as an aesthetic was probably born around 1984, with “Stranger Than Paradise” and bands like Jesus and Mary Chain. If you were in high school then, you’re old enough to have kids in college now. And annoying imitation-indie movies like “Away We Go” are everywhere now. One thing that bugs me about indie is its implicit argument that it doesn’t have to say too much but simply connote a feel, a mellow yet angsty yearning, a haze of disappointment. Speaking would be, like, trying too hard to make a point. And trying too hard isn’t cool.