Retox Film Review: The Bling Ring TheBlingRing

Film Review by Anna Fearon

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring is a film that will inevitably have hoards of girls running to see it, wanting to see the flood of designer handbags, clothing and jewellery that features so heavily in the film. The Bling Ring is based on a true story about a circle of teenagers that break into A-Lister’s houses, so that they can steal their luxury items and live the Hollywood lifestyle they so crave.

The film certainly un-covered the activity of The Bling Ring; every celebrity whose house was broken into was shown in the film. We see the gang break into Paris Hilton’s house and Lindsay Lohan’s collecting millions worth of possessions. The film gave us a great insight into why these young girls and the guy acted the way they did, showing us that some of the characters had a history of episodes of rebellion, whilst others just desperately wanted to live the life of the rich and famous.

Glorifying the Lifestyle

However the members of the ring seem to be shown in a heroic light, as they brag to their peer group about their raids and are also shown taking class A drugs to the background of loud party music. As the film progresses their lifestyles become more varied and intense and they go from wearing normal teenage clothing to tight bandage dresses and fur stoles. There is of course the worry that this film is glorifying the lifestyle, showing that it is cool to own hoards of designer clothing and take drugs.

Who’s to Blame?

Whilst the gang were shown to look inventive and ingenious the celebrities came off looking stupid and thoughtless. Many of the celebrities had left one of their doors open to their house, making the gang’s job incredibly easy. In particular the film reveals how on the night of the first burglary Paris Hilton had not only left the door open but left a key under her doormat. Furthermore the characters break into her house numerous times before she notices anything is missing, indicating just how spoilt she is.

The Cast of The Bling Ring

Emma Watson is fabulous as the confident Nicki and accomplished her American accent well. However, the best actress has to be Katie Chang who is unnervingly convincing as the fearless Rebecca, so much so that the film made me hate the character. Even when the police raid her house towards the end of the film she is so composed and calm that it is irritating.

Moral of the Story…

Overall The Bling Ring gives us an insight into how five rich kids managed to fool Hollywood for weeks on pursuit of their own gain. The film shows us how dangerous greed and jealously can be and that no matter how many times you do not get caught, you will eventually be found out in the end.