Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Warning: there are some jumbo monster super spoilers in the second review I’m running today. If you want to be surprised, DO NOT READ IT. I’ve debated about running it, and I decided to do so because I think there is a percentage of the audience that will absolutely share the main concern the reviewer has. I think it’s the thing that is going to divide audiences the most about the movie. Personally, I enjoyed the film enormously as it is now, but I can see how someone might get totally derailed because... well... you’ll see.
First up, there’s this one:
Harry,
Caught a screening of the Life Aquatic at the DGA tonight. Wes Anderson was supposed to be in attendance for Q&A, but he was detained in NY.
So, how is the movie? I've had some time to think about it. It's hard to sum it up in words. Is it good? Hell yes. But, trying to describe all of the reasons why, that could take all night. I won't go into the plot synopsis, that's what the official site is for. You get everything you expect in a Wes Anderson movie, and yet, he pulls out some surprises. He has this knack of making movies that are offbeat and funny, yet within the film are scenes that catch you off guard because they are so real, things get suddenly serious. The "would you tell them you fingered me?" scene in Rushmore comes to mind. He achieves this again with this film, but I won't tell you how. I don't want to give anything away. This film goes to show that Bill Murray can do anything. Bet you didn't think that Bill Murray could pick up a gun and turn into a total badass, all the while wearing a speedo and a bathrobe. All I will say is that the scenes with Bill Murray fighting the pirates are some of the best in the film. Yes, you heard me right: pirates. Hey it's an adventure at sea, what did you expect?
And that's my next point. The film is a sprawling adventure, but done as only Wes Anderson can do it. Is it funny? Absolutely. Is it fun? Yes, it's a total blast. This film is made on his biggest canvas yet, with larger than life locations and characters. Yet, the boat has all the coziness and character that the Tennebaum house had. Wes Anderson continues to evolve as a filmmaker. He's got more up his sleeve than rolling out quirky costume pieces about fetishistic emotional wrecks. Okay, there's a lot of that in the movie...but to simplify it like that does the film an injustice. It's the same, yet totally different. The only way I can describe it, is that it's a Wes Anderson movie. Nuff said there.
The rest of the performances are great as well. If the was one problem I had with Tennenbaums it was that most of the characters were all the same, very glum. Not so here. Even Owen Wilson gets to shine. He's not playing "Owen Wilson", relying on his smile and crooked nose. Although his southern accent is a little shaky, his quiet (but not artificially "mousy" in that "I'm an energetic actor playing against type by playing "quiet")performance is one of an actor, and not a "star". Of course, Willem Defoe steals most every scene he is in. But at the end of the day this is Murray's show. Somebody throw an Oscar at him already, what's the holdup?
The music is top notch as usual, with a cool slant on a bundle of David Bowie songs. There's even a cool nod to Buckaroo Banzai as the cast walks into frame over the end credits of the film. In some dark theatre somewhere, it may put a smile on W.D. Richter's face. Ironic, considering that Jeff Goldblum is in both movies.
The best thing about the film, as with all Wes Anderson movies, is that the movie stays with you. Hours later, it is still on my mind. I once heard that you know you have seen a great movie when you wake up the next day after seeing it, and it is still on your mind. I'll be thinking of this film for a long time. There's been a lot of great movies this year: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Primer, Spider Man 2, I Heart Huckabees, Garden State, The Machinist, Harry Potter 3, Mean Creek, Seeing Other People, Sky Captain, Napoleon Dynamite, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, etc. We can add The Life Aquatic to that list. I don't know why people bitch about the movies being so bad when we have people like Wes Anderson out there.
Chris
Well said, man. I agree. I was at a press event the other day, and a bunch of people from various outlets were sitting around when one guy started talking about how THE LIFE AQUATIC was the worst film he’d seen this year. I was stunned at the time, but in hindsight, I can’t say I’m surprised. It’s not going to be for everyone. But if you love it, you’ll love it a lot... I promise. Now here comes the spoiler-heavy review. Remember... you were warned:
Hello film fans. This is Victorypalace and Brattilina fresh from a screening of an “unfinished print” of Wes Anderson’s latest “comedy” The Life Aquatic.
It’s The Royal Tenenbaums meets Jacques Cousteau in this aquatic quest for the infamous Jaguar Shark. The film brings back some of the stars of Anderson’s previous film The Royal Tenenbaums in the form of Anjelica Houston and Owen Wilson. Bill Murray plays the lovable a**hole Steve Zissou, who leads us on a rambling misadventure in his quest for revenge on the shark that ate his partner, veteran actor Seymour Cassel. Also in the cast is Cate Blanchette, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, and—talk about nostalgia!—Bud Cort, of Harold and Maude fame.
The film opens on an Italian mural serving as the backdrop of the latest Italian film festival where part 1 of Murray’s search for the Jaguar Shark film just played. Murray fields questions from the audience about the film which leaves us wondering whether the shark really ate Cassel or not; or whether the shark was even real. And then we learn that Murray’s going to assemble Team Zissou for one last crack at the ever-elusive shark.
Then several of the stories threads begin to weave through the film: Murray and Houston have a strained marriage in spite of working together for many years, Murray tries to get funds together to make the next film, and the mysterious introduction of Owen Wilson who believes may or may not himself to be Murray’s long lost son.
Though without funds, it seems the crew will never make that last journey. However, Wilson, an airline pilot for Air Kentucky, uses his inheritance to back the film, and go along for the ride, hoping to bond with his “father”. Once the funds are in place, Murray gets crewed up, along with red caps, jumpsuits, and 9mm Glocks in thigh holsters; and then we’re given a tour of their boat (in cross section view), as well as an overview of all the personnel manning the film equipment. Unable to endure another journey with Murray, Houston leaves him.
The film is divided into chapters or segments documenting the stages of the journey. Throughout the journey, one of the Portuguese members of Team Zissou, provides a musical soundtrack in the form of David Bowie songs sung in Portuguese, along with acoustic guitar. Cate Blanchette’s a pregnant journalist assigned to cover the journey, and reveal what makes Murray’s character tick.
Complications ensue when Murray’s advances toward Blanchette are rebuffed. While Wilson and Blanchette form an onboard romance. There are doubts about whether Wilson is really Murray’s son. Murray admits that he doesn’t want to be a father. The ship’s intercepted by Philippine pirates who kidnap Bud Cort (He’s a representative of the bond company assigned to stay with the crew to ensure that all the money’s being spent in the right way.) and partially destroy the ship. Murray flies into a rage, unties himself, and a la John Wayne, shoots at the pirates, chasing them off his ship.
Without the proper equipment, Murray decides to raid Jeff Goldblum’s underwater observational facility for the high-tech equipment necessary to track down the Jaguar Shark. Goldblum plays a more highly polished underwater explorer (former ex-husband to Houston’s character) compared to Murray’s slackerly ways. Further along the way, they see Goldblum’s ship destroyed, presumably by the same Philippine pirates.
Murray and his team track down Cort by way of a phone call to an island where a daring rescue of both Cort and Goldblum occur. Even though Goldblum is shot point blank in the chest, he survives. Hmmm…
I may have the order of events a little confused here; but somewhere along the way, Murray goes back to visit Houston for more money, and sees her hanging out with Goldblum. Yet she decides to go along with him. Murray ran out of money along the way, and needs enough to take his crew down to where they thought they found the Jaguar Shark.
For some reason, Murray has trouble locating the shark, and Wilson offers help in the form of a helicopter ride. While in air, Murray produces a letter Wilson wrote to him as a child about oceanography, a touching moment. However, the helicopter malfunctions and crashes into the water. Wilson hangs onto a life raft, and Murray swims up to him. Wilson begins to weaken. I thought they’d both survive; but then we see Murray carrying Wilson’s lifeless body onto shore, and later hold a burial at sea for him. At some point Houston confirms to Blanchette that Murray was “firing blanks” i.e. he never had a son.
The crew gathers in their yellow submarine for one last shot at the shark. In the dark depths, they see something faint in the distant blackness, and sure enough, the Jaguar Shark swims into view in all its immense, glowing glory. As they watch, Murray somehow decides not to do anything, just let it go. I guess it was enough to see it face to face, and move on. A cameraman on board captures the whole scene.
Then we end at the same Italian film festival, the Zissou crew (minus Murray) watching the end of their documentary. Murray’s outside on the steps alone with what seems like a shark statuette. A little boy comes up to him, Murray picks up the boy and puts him on his shoulders. They walk down the flight of stairs, behind them a throng of people who just came out of the film. There’s a sense of excitement about the throng, but Murray’s preoccupied by something else.
The falling action is Murray walking along a pier alone, then one by one, the other members of Team Zissou, along with Houston, Goldblum and the little boy (all in red caps and jumpsuits by the way) fall in with him, as they board their ship presumably on another adventure.
Then probably over where the end credits should roll, we see the Portuguese guitar player sitting alone in front of the same Italian mural singing another Bowie song.
Our Two Cents…
The film seemed to have that same pacing as Tenenbaums did. It also felt like another trip down Nostalgia Street when you see all the old 16mm film equipment Team Zissou used, the Nagra sound recorder; even down to that old half blue, half white pen with the three colored refills (red, blue, and black) that were popular in the 1970s that Wilson gives to Blanchette so she would drop him a line some day.
Murray does a good job here, especially when he takes action after a streak of letting things just happen; and there’s a lovely moment in the sub when they come upon the shark that shows us Murray is a much finer actor than anyone has yet to see thus far, but it seemed as though Gene Hackman could have easily filled this position given the nature of the character, i.e. the lovable a**hole. Was Anderson thinking of assembling the same cast for this film? Hmmm… Dafoe was interesting and fun but ultimately wasted in his supporting role as a German (?) who is always seeking approval from Murray, and bearing a grudge against Wilson, but then reconciling with him. Wilson is a real bright spot here and never drops his southern drawl for a second. We think Blanchett is one of the greatest actresses of our time so it was particularly hard to watch her in a role not worthy of her great talent. And what was Anderson thinking by shooting Angelica Houston’s nose from a side angle! (Come on Wes, she’s an older lady, show some respect and light her right, eh?!) The film also comments on the nature of independent filmmaking itself, and the hoops one has to go through to make one.
But the thing that’s gonna bury this film with audiences is that they killed off Wilson. Cripes! He’s the one character the audience likes. If it’s a “comedy” then please don’t kill off one of your main characters. I mean, would Trading Places be the classic it is if either Dan Ackroyd or Eddie Murphy’s character were killed off at the end of the second act?
It should be said that we went in hoping to really love this movie and there were some great sections, most notably Murray’s “John Wayne saving the day” moment is unexpected and refreshing and the entire sequence where the guys go to save Bud Cort is fast, silly and incredibly fun. (In fact, it’s the best thing in the film.) There is also something to be said for actually filming somewhere interesting for a change. Although the shots in the water tank at the studio look painfully fake, the outdoor stuff in the south of France is gorgeous and colorful. There are also a few really wonderful stop-motion animation sections that we’d have liked to see more of and the underwater stuff shot in a big tank was art directed beautifully. And come on, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” sung in Portugese – too fun!
Personally, we feel Life Aquatic (in this version) in spite of its star power, doesn’t have enough entertainment values that would keep it afloat, nor qualify it as a cult film. It appears to be another quirky dramedy that will quickly appear, then disappear into the depths of obscurity. It’s too bad really, because it’s obvious so many talented people worked on it. If it were our money, we’d go back and reshoot the end so Wilson lives.
Thanks, guys. December 10th can’t get here fast enough. If anyone was at tonight’s Egyptian Theater screening in LA with the Q&A afterwards, drop me a line and let me know how it went.
"Moriarty" out.
