After getting a new memory card for my camera and testing it on the vintage electronics carnage below, I decided to go and see Wes Anderson’s latest offering.
Having previously read interviews, seen screenshots and fallen in love with the premise of the movie, I had unwittingly shot my own version in my head. I was also thinking about Luke Wilson’s failed tennis prodigy character in the Royal Tenembaums who embarks on an austere cargo ship cruise. I suppose I was wishing that Anderson would let his characters breathe a little more. This meant I was expecting something in the languorous style and pace of Lost In Translation amalgamated with the caustic finesse of Todd Solondz and a heroic dose of Anderson’s wit. It was never to be, and thankfully, so I have now come to realise.
Anderson made something that was true to himself without it being the Royal Tenembaums at sea, which is what the stylistically ominous poster gave the impression of initially. Make no mistake this is a Wes Anderson film so certain aesthetic reflexes remain. Text overlays, attention to detail, brilliantly thought out set pieces and scholastic parody galore.
However, The Life Aquatic is much more than just a parade of stylistic winks and nods. Wes Anderson revisits the themes of faded glory, inarticulate emotions and fatherhood. The deadpan humour might mask them for most of the film but Anderson deftly lifts the diaphanous veil of style and comedy at the right moments to reveal the underlying poignancy.
Even if my immediate appreciation of The Life Aquatic was muted due to expectations (may they be damned), I find that it could well be Anderson’s best so far. In some ways, the Royal Tenembaums was a cross between a dollhouse and the corset. I was scared that Wes Anderson was becoming the Guy Ritchie of quirky Hollywood but I don’t think he will.
With the Life Aquatic, Anderson has not strayed from the course he plotted, his characters breathe more too. Short controlled exhalations of air I should say, as they exercise under his eye… it’s already something.
Team Zissou Top Z:
Z. The end sequence homage to Buckaroo Banzaï. (Credit: my bro)
Z. The instructive boat tour in a split in half model – a tour de force. (Credit: PB)
Having previously read interviews, seen screenshots and fallen in love with the premise of the movie, I had unwittingly shot my own version in my head. I was also thinking about Luke Wilson’s failed tennis prodigy character in the Royal Tenembaums who embarks on an austere cargo ship cruise. I suppose I was wishing that Anderson would let his characters breathe a little more. This meant I was expecting something in the languorous style and pace of Lost In Translation amalgamated with the caustic finesse of Todd Solondz and a heroic dose of Anderson’s wit. It was never to be, and thankfully, so I have now come to realise.
Anderson made something that was true to himself without it being the Royal Tenembaums at sea, which is what the stylistically ominous poster gave the impression of initially. Make no mistake this is a Wes Anderson film so certain aesthetic reflexes remain. Text overlays, attention to detail, brilliantly thought out set pieces and scholastic parody galore.
However, The Life Aquatic is much more than just a parade of stylistic winks and nods. Wes Anderson revisits the themes of faded glory, inarticulate emotions and fatherhood. The deadpan humour might mask them for most of the film but Anderson deftly lifts the diaphanous veil of style and comedy at the right moments to reveal the underlying poignancy.
Even if my immediate appreciation of The Life Aquatic was muted due to expectations (may they be damned), I find that it could well be Anderson’s best so far. In some ways, the Royal Tenembaums was a cross between a dollhouse and the corset. I was scared that Wes Anderson was becoming the Guy Ritchie of quirky Hollywood but I don’t think he will.
With the Life Aquatic, Anderson has not strayed from the course he plotted, his characters breathe more too. Short controlled exhalations of air I should say, as they exercise under his eye… it’s already something.
Team Zissou Top Z:
Z. The end sequence homage to Buckaroo Banzaï. (Credit: my bro)
Z. The instructive boat tour in a split in half model – a tour de force. (Credit: PB)
Z. The in-helmet music demonstration by Bill Murray.
Z. David Bowie in Portuguese, especially just before the pirates boarding.
Z. Team Zissou paraphernalia
Z. David Bowie in Portuguese, especially just before the pirates boarding.
Z. Team Zissou paraphernalia
P.S: This is a great film to watch on one's own in an empty cinema, with a couple making out thirty or so rows back.
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