What filmmaking techniques does The Bling Ring use?

CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Bling Ring (2013): Wide-Angle Observational Staging, Real Locations as Character, Status and Self-Worth Anxiety and Observational Restraint.

Who directed The Bling Ring?

Sofia Coppola directed The Bling Ring, released in 2013. CineCode also covers The Virgin Suicides (2000), Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2006), Somewhere (2010), The Beguiled (2017), On the Rocks (2020).

What films are similar to The Bling Ring?

Films that share techniques with The Bling Ring include The Wrong Man (1956), Somewhere (2010), Foxcatcher (2014), The Station Agent (2003).

Crime · Drama

The Bling Ring

Sofia Coppola, 2013

A group of teenagers in Los Angeles break into the homes of celebrities, including Paris Hilton, and walk out with clothes, jewelry and cash. The film is based on real burglaries. Watch how Coppola refuses to judge them and lets the camera sit back while the thefts happen.

2 Cinematography 1 Psychology 1 Narrative

At a glance

The Bling Ring is a 2013 crime and drama film directed by Sofia Coppola. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (2 cinematography, 1 psychology and 1 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, The Wrong Man uses several of the same techniques.

Cinematography

Wide-Angle Observational Staging

Filming a scene in wide shots from a distance and refusing to cut to close-ups. You watch awkward or extreme behavior play out in full, like a witness.

How this film uses it

Coppola films one burglary from far away in a wide shot, so you watch the teens move through a glass house from outside. She does not cut in for close-ups or tension. You feel like a bystander who could stop it and does not.

Where to see it

The Audrina Patridge break-in. The teens search her home, and the camera watches from a distance instead of following them in.

Cinematography

Real Locations as Character

Filming in recognizable real places so the setting acts like part of the cast. Streets, buildings and landscapes shape the mood of the story.

How this film uses it

The film shoots in Paris Hilton's own home, which Hilton allowed. The closets, rooms and shoes belong to the real person the teens idolize. The place itself shows what they want.

Where to see it

The Paris Hilton house. Marc and Rebecca find a key under the doormat, go in and take jewelry.

Psychology

Status and Self-Worth Anxiety

Centering a character's fear of being unimportant, replaced or left behind. Their pursuit of rank, success or recognition shows how fragile their self-worth is.

How this film uses it

Rebecca wants to look like the people she follows online, and she shows off a stolen bracelet to her friends. Their pursuit of fame shows how fragile their sense of worth is. The theft is a way to feel important.

Where to see it

The party. Rebecca flaunts Paris's bracelet to Nicki, Sam and Chloe.

Narrative

Observational Restraint

Watching events from a measured distance with no swelling music, tear-jerking close-ups or showy camera moves. The film trusts what happens to carry the weight on its own.

How this film uses it

Coppola stays at a measured distance and does not add a moral soundtrack or speeches. The teens' shopping sprees and thefts happen without comment. You judge them yourself, and that makes it more uncomfortable.

Where to see it

The shopping spree. Marc and Rebecca spend the first stolen money on luxury items.

Questions

The Bling Ring: quick answers

What filmmaking techniques does The Bling Ring use?: CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Bling Ring (2013): Wide-Angle Observational Staging, Real Locations as Character, Status and Self-Worth Anxiety and Observational Restraint.
Who directed The Bling Ring?: Sofia Coppola directed The Bling Ring, released in 2013. CineCode also covers The Virgin Suicides (2000), Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2006), Somewhere (2010), The Beguiled (2017), On the Rocks (2020).
What films are similar to The Bling Ring?: Films that share techniques with The Bling Ring include The Wrong Man (1956), Somewhere (2010), Foxcatcher (2014), The Station Agent (2003).

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