Venice Review: Marc by Sofia is a Pleasant Documentary Profile That Lacks Depth of Connection

      Sofia Coppola, Marc Jacobs, and three decades of friendship between them created an enticing enough combination for A24 to get involved in the project and for the Venice Film Festival to host its world premiere (out of competition). Where better than Italy for a prominent director to debut a fashion documentary? Luca Guadagnino chose to do so (with Salvatore, Shoemaker of Dreams), fully aware it would transition directly to streaming afterward. The subgenre of fashion documentaries typically displays a transparent approach, with its predictable structure, talking heads, and rapid supercut editing designed to maintain a lively tempo. Themes of fame, beauty, and a cutthroat industry—where one can either excel or just get by—are commercially appealing. However, when Sofia Coppola creates such a film focusing on designer Marc Jacobs and his A/W 2024/25 collection, it seems to exceed just a calculated project.

      One might anticipate a wealth of shared memories, recounted with the warmth of an inside joke, sprinkled with laughter; perhaps even more challenging personal inquiries to capture the unique essence of Jacobs that only someone intimately familiar with him could convey. If that person is a filmmaker with Coppola's sensitivity, one would hope for traces of the melancholic flair that infuses all her works. However, Marc Jacobs himself brings that melancholic flair, while Coppola appears more at ease playing the role of a gentle interviewer who prompts minimally, aware that her subject does not require much encouragement.

      Only a few of Coppola’s questions are featured for the audience, but it's hard to believe Jacobs isn’t subtly guided toward discussing cinema and films as sources of inspiration. While he expresses genuine enthusiasm when mentioning Bob Fosse, Barbara Streisand, Hello Dolly, or The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, he is less specific about what inspires him about these movies compared to his discussions on photography, music, or visual art. Lacking a coherent framework, the conversation about cinema gives the impression of a “Four Favorites with Marc Jacobs” (Letterboxd: take notes!) rather than exploring the designer’s experience acting in the 2012 film Disconnect alongside Andrea Riseborough and Alexander Skarsgard. It would have been intriguing to hear what a designer known for his avant-garde, conceptual, and cinematic shows thinks about being on a movie set where others dictate the rules—surely Coppola could contribute her own insights on directing.

      From a narrative standpoint, Coppola’s documentary could have benefitted from disrupting the rigid “life-story-in-the-lead-up-to-Fashion-Week” format and adopting a different approach to tell Marc Jacobs's story—depicting the myth, the deadline-driven visionary who dreads starting every new project, the self-made individual. Marc by Sofia—especially when observing Jacobs in his element (four weeks before a show) as he exhales a small cloud of vape smoke—offers a viewing experience so pleasant that one might feel a connection with him. This agreeable documentary features virtually no drama (and notably lacks any other interviewees), showcasing a dedicated icon known for his streetwise aesthetic and profound impact on high fashion: what’s the catch? Perhaps there isn’t one, yet it’s difficult to determine if the film's easygoing nature stems from a friendly demeanor or if Coppola’s auteur influence is too subtle.

      Marc by Sofia had its premiere at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.