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Bresson isn't tided over by THE LIFE AQUATIC!
Hey folks, Harry here with a rather discouraging review regarding Wes Anderson's LIFE AQUATIC. Having said that, I have found that Wes Anderson - like the Coen Brothers and Woody Allen - is a talent that isn't, unfortunately, a talent that everyone recognizes or appreciates. On the otherhand, I find them to be breathtakingly refreshing when placed against the rest of my yearly intake of film. Beware of spoilers here... but also take into consideration... it's a Wes Anderson movie - it takes the peculiar to truly appreciate. heh...
Hey Harry, here's a LIFE AQUATIC review if you need
one:
One trick pony. That was the deep, sad feeling I got
while walking out of LIFE AQUATIC. Is it a bad movie?
I don't think Wes Anderson is capable of making a bad
movie -- not bad in that Brett Ratner way. He's too
talented, too capable. But with LIFE AQUATIC,
Anderson's limitations are showing. He's original, but
not innovative. He has vision, but is not visionary.
In brief, he's beginning to repeat himself.
There isn't much point in reiterating LIFE AQUATIC's
plot. There isn't much of one. It's basically ROYAL
TENENBAUMS on a boat. Bill Murray, in another
terrific, late career performance, plays essentially
the same character as Gene Hackman did in TENENBAUM:
the once talented and famous patriarch of a ragtag,
eccentric group (this time, the only difference is
that he's not related to any of them) that he manages
to hold together with a combination of awe and
chicanery. The basic elements of the story is that
Murray's oceanographer Steve Zissou has just lost his
friend and business partner to a mysterious giant
shark, and embarks with his crew to find and kill it.
In one of the funniest moments of the movie, when
Zissou is told he cannot kill the shark, Murray
deadpans, "I'll find it. But I won't kill it."
Complicating his task is the sudden appearance by
someone who may or may not be the son from an affair
Zissou had in his youth. Played by Owen Wilson with a
Kentucky accent and a Rhett Butler moustache, the
performance is surprisingly effective, especially
given the low regard I generally hold for Wilson's
acting, which often tends to second banana straight
man in subpar studio films cooked up in Monday morning
development meetings. Here, as often happens with
Wilson in an Anderson movie, he actually gets to play
a character and its both amusing and, at times,
moving.
Using this, Anderson sends his crew of Team Zissou out
to water to do, seemingly, everything but look for the
shark. They steal supplies from a competitor of
Zissou's, played hysterically by Jeff Goldblum, who
steals every scene he's in, even from Murray. A
reporter played by Cate Blanchett shows up to
interview Zissou, and quickly becomes the object of
affection to both father and "son". And then there's a
subplot about pirates that provides some of the
movie's most awkward scenes. Note to Anderson: Don't
direct anymore action scenes. Please. All this, of
course, culminates in typical Anderson fashion: the
sad realization of opportunites lost (Murray has a
killer line summing this up) and the obligatory slow
motion shot that concludes every Anderson movie.
As previously stated, where LIFE AQUATIC goes wrong is
in its familiarity. I sat there and couldn't help but
think that I've seen this all before, and done better.
This goes beyond the visual style. Anyone who's seen
Anderson's films should be familiar with his style by
now, and nothing here will surprise you. The addition
of Henry Selick to provide some animated monsters is
amusing, but unnecessary, even distracting, as they
have no bearing on the characters except to add
another layer of quirkiness and as a cutaway whenever
Anderson needs a laugh. (To add to the precious level
of the film, Anderson has included, yes, an actual
yellow submarine)
What is most surprising about LIFE AQUATIC is how
unsure Anderson seems a lot of the times. Many scenes
seem to stutter and meander. The scene where Wilson
greets Murray for the first time is so awkward and
unnatural, that it goes beyond two characters playing
it that way. It seems Anderson isn't sure where he
wants this scene to go -- so he kicks in one of the
soundtrack's many vintage 70s Bowie songs. And the
movie goes on and on about how Zissou needs funding,
providing more scenes that seemingly go nowhere. And
then, we get back to the problem of familiarity. A big
chunk of the movie's conflict is between Wilson and
Murray vying for Blanchett's affection, another
reiteration of the relationship in RUSHMORE, except
done with none of the wit and freshness that that
movie had.
For me, the performances were the saving grace of this
movie, even though, unlike TENENBAUM and RUSHMORE, I
thought Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach
shortchanged their development, making them seem even
more cartoonish. Willem Dafoe plays Zissou's loyal
German sidekick, but we know nothing about him beyond
that he's German. Bud Cort, when not consigned to
being an extra in the group shots, is amusing as a
bond company man sent to keep an eye on Zissou.
Angelica Huston plays Zissou's benefactor, who herself
has been a victim to his years of reckless
selfishness. The only disappointment in acting is
Blanchett. One of my favorite actresses, she never
registers as the object of affection between father
and son.
Again, there is enough in this movie to make it
watchable, even funny at times. There are many things
I love about this movie, but many more things I can't
get over. PREMIERE magazine gave this movie a rave
review, but the critic also echoed my fear: that this
may be the beginning of Anderson showing his
limitations. Every great filmmaker has changed things
up, be it stylistically or thematically. Coppola
changed things from GODFATHER to APOCALYPSE NOW.
Scorsese changed things up with MEAN STREETS and ALICE
DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. Does Anderson have what it
takes to do something unique and different in the
coming years? Only time will tell. But if this movie
is any indication, Anderson should stay away from
logistically complicated films. It doesn't seem to
play to his strengths and, perhaps, may have even
distracted him.
If you use this, call me BRESSON.
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+ Expand All
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that I've been hearing from friends who saw it at a USC screening, but it's still got my ticket when it opens, still better than most crap out there I'm sure. I just wish more films had Anderson's editing aesthetic of longer shots and working within frames as it's been more effective for me as a viewer, in terms of comedy and getting emotion into dramatic parts. The concept did look a bit too similar to Tenenbaums though. It's definitely an interesting holiday season line-up after last winter seemed more derivatively Oscar-friendly methinks....
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Nov 29, 2004 7:52:02 AM CST
Anytime you put a gun or a drink in Bill Murray's hand, you've g
by jaguart
Funny how comic actors get famous and then suddenly want to be taken seriously. Remember "The Razor's Edge"? Now, twenty years later, Murray has his wish, just like Burt Reynolds felt when he was makin' those Bandit movies. Wonder if Jim Carrey will realize his dream of master thespian after his face loses all that elasticity.
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Anyone else find it kind of pathetic how Harry defended the movie from a reasoned review just because he doesn't want to agree with it? I mean, it's clear that the reviewer IS a fan of this guy's movies (since he readily compares him to others), unlike what Harry implies with his introduction, and he found it to fall short of his usual expectations.
$20 says Harry gives this a positive review. -
I'm a Wes Anderson fan but everything in this movie is lifted or xeroxed from earlier films except for the details of documentary filmmaking ... a boat dedicated to making movies from beginning to end is probably something Anderson drew when he was eight and is now able to realize. And I agree 100% about the pirate scene and have mentioned it earlier ... the robbery in Bottle Rocket is what action should look like in an Anderson film, not this ...
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As I normally do, I skipped Harry's pre-review comments since he usually talks about something he knows little or nothing about as though he is some movie guru and read the review. Good work, Benson. Good work indeed. It was definitely the fair and balanced that more critics should strive for. (The only thing I wish there was more of was what you actually liked about the film.).............................................................................................. Then I went back and read Harry's pre-review notes. ............................................................ Harry, you ass. You come off as a condescending elitist prick. Just because you don't agree with what the man has to say about a movie you never saw doesn't mean you can say in so many words that "he doesn't get it." Grow up, Harry.
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"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," baby.
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Anderson, I feel, peaked with Rushmore. His ensemble casts are fun so long as a central character is allowed to steal the show (Fisher in Rushmore, Anthony in Bottle Rocket). With Royal Tenenbuams, he just got carried away by the minutia of every character, unable to decide who the primary focus was, and in the end we got the uneven film whose heart was in the right place but just didn't come together well enough. I fear he's doing that with Life Aquatic, but I won't judge it until I see it. I'd like to see Anderson return to Wilson as a writing partner and produce smaller films that don't indulge his quirks so readily.
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... make him look like a massive tool. He's got an honest, well written critique of the film here (something I haven't seen from the Fat Man in a long while), and all he can do is shit on it with his presumptions. Bad Harry! Bad!
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Hey people:
Moriarty himself will be on the live television show "The Screen Savers" on G4techTV tomorrow (11/30) at 7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific.
Just letting you all know! -
Dec 01, 2004 7:30:07 PM CST
It's no coincidence that TruPhan misread this writer's pen name
by krinkle
He sounds like just the kind of red-stater who would never have heard of Robert Bresson, anyway.
But he's heard of that old "good" Robert Guillame TV show, ain't he?
Seriously, does anybody think "Life Aquatic" will be less than enjoyable?
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