English 1102 Film Blog Assignment
|
In recent times, Bill Murray's movies have been misleadingly advertised. Fearing box office failure, the marketing team behind "Lost in Translation" crafted ads presenting it as a goofy romantic comedy. It was in fact a much deeper and poignant art house experience. It was a "critical success and a public disaster," as one reviewer aptly described it. After all, no one pays to go see a serious Bill Murray movie, right? Similarly, Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" seems to have misled many film goers into perceiving it is a silly slapstick comedy. It is not. "The Life Aquatic" is a rather serious film with a bit of dry humor here and there to lighten the mood. Those expecting "Ghostbusters III" or another "Stripes" will be very disappointed. The Life Aquatic relied more upon visual humor rather than spoken humor. The scene in which Jane is interviewing Steve and the Orca is swimming around in the tank behind them is quite is a good example, and its all visual. The stop-motion animated creatures, the guns, the giant OPERATION HENNESEY written on everything, Hennessy's sunken ship... all of these are mainly visual but are very funny. In my opinion this is one of Anderson's most mature directorial effort to date. It deals with a lot of angst and could arguably be called a mid-life-crisis movie (although certainly less so than "The Royal Tenenbaums"). It deals with a man's trials and tribulations -– involving death, love, hatred, regret, fatherhood, envy, and so on and so forth. There is not a more ideal actor out there to play this role than Bill Murray. In an interview, he once said that he has a lot of trouble and anger in his personal life; it translates well to the screen. In "The Life Aquatic" Bill Murray plays the titular Steve Zissou (pronounced "Ziz-so"), world famous oceanographer and failing documentary film maker (whose last hit, we are told, was nine years ago). While on a routine diving mission, Steve's lifelong friend is eaten alive by an unidentified "Jaguar Shark." Steve captures the events on camera and inserts them in his next film, but the critical reaction is dire. Steve is accused of having lost his touch, and is given one last chance to present his investors a hit, or he will never work again. However the last things on Steve's mind are financial issues – instead he swears revenge on the Jaguar Shark (in the name of science, of course) and embarks on an adventure to slaughter the fish that killed his best friend. Steve's estranged wife (Anjelica Huston) joins him on his trip, as well as a mysterious man who may or may not be Steve's son (Owen Wilson with a Kentucky accent), and a very German Willem Dafoe (who is responsible for most of the film's laughs). Also along for Zissou's final outing are three college interns, and a pregnant blunt reporter (Cate Blanchett) seeking the dirt on Zissou, who finds herself falling in love with his ostensible son. This is a film you either get or you don't. It’s an offbeat tribute to Cousteau with the well-worn theme of a film within a film and had a great deal going for it (as well as sorting out their relationships, Bill Murray and his crew are making a documentary about Murray's revenge-based quest for a Jaguar Shark). However, the dialogue isn't that sharp; in fact it's pretty ordinary, so you have to be amused by the numerous visual gags that surround it and numerous references to other films. The music, characters, story, settings, and visual beauty come together at times to give the film rich dimensions. Though without the wonderful soundtrack, much of it courtesy David Bowie, I think it would have fallen flat. I think the soundtrack and score to the film support the characters which are all so human; though the film at times has a “cartoonish plot”. They're funny, tragic, nostalgic, familiar, and yearning. They are real, and yet still have a touch of myth and fantasy that allows me to tap into my own imagination. It is this calm and softly surreal type of mood that makes me really take to the movie. This movie is very ambiguous and open-ended. It leaves a lot open for discussion at the end -- something I believe Wes Anderson is particularly good at. On its surface, it is Anderson's first true Hollywood movie and even features special effects. But in terms of narrative it is by far his most realistic and touching movie (or at least I thought so). The strangest thing about this movie is that, being so weird and original, it still strikes hard on your feelings. The characters have a life of their own that makes you think that you know them from before. And you love them for that. Bill Murray is just wonderful, though it's hard to realize if he is acting at all. That's the key of his greatness as an actor. It's the same with Owen who seems so sincere in his role that you believe him completely. And you feel like he's a forgotten friend from somewhere else. The music and the CGI images are so original, so modern and so anachronistic at the same time that make the perfect complement for this weird story that it is. "The Life Aquatic"was entertaining and also managed to feel free of narrative manipulation – and that is probably why people either love or hate it, judging from critical response.
Overall, while not a flawless film, it is a very mature work. I believe its mixed reaction from the critics and public is due to the fact that it was heavily misunderstood on release (as some of the great classic films were in their time) and is, as I mentioned above, much more of an honest drama than some the audience probably expected it to be walking into the theater based on the promotional campaign and trailer. Its unique shots differentiate the movie from many others - turning what would otherwise be a boring scene into something that at times feels like a stunningly incredible cross between the animated scenery of The Nightmare Before Christmas (indeed, the animations were done by the same person in both movies) and a presentation of Jules Verne's 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. The end of the film: wonderful. As Steve sees the jaguar shark that killed his best friend, he has a change of heart. Astounded by its beauty, he can't bring himself to slay it as he had set out to do. This moment is amazing, and Sigur Ros provides for some moody but hauntingly lovely music (Starálfur is the name, I recommend you download it). At that moment, the film actually kind of fulfilled my expectations.
2 Comments
Stephanie Findley
5/9/2017 03:20:31 pm
I also agree how the animation or dry humor kind of broke up the more serious scenes. When watching the movie I never thought about how there is a deeper meaning behind the movie and Bill Murray not being the funny guy. Now I see that there was more too it.
Reply
Sam,
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Author: Samantha PlezbertAn amateur review of 16 films and other workings. Archives |