Thursday, May 12, 2005
WHAT LIES BENEATH
I don't want to write about DVDs regularly, but I think that I have to do something when it comes to The Life Aquatic.
When The Life Aquatic came out last December, I was interested but noticed that most of the reviews were negative, so I didn't make much of a point to see it. The critics wrote en masse that Wes Anderson's propensity toward cuteness and art direction had finally caught up with him, swallowing any semblance of a narrative structure to the film. I don't think that I read a single review that attempted to analyze any of the film's content. If you had asked me, based upon the reviews, what The Life Aquatic was about, I probably would have said that it was just a bunch of cute sets shot in bold colors with no story.
I finally saw The Life Aquatic at the Brew N' View in early April, (with my co-worker Lord Guy Keating), and it was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed a lot, was moved by several scenes , and, yes, thought it looked great. However, considering that I saw it at the Brew N' View, I was still doubtful. I thought that the beer and cigarettes might have been the reason that I had such a good time and not the film itself. So, I decided to see it again when it came out on DVD this Tuesday.
I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed the Life Aquatic just as much the second time around, if not more so.
I won't go into the plot in detail: Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau-like undersea adventurer and film-maker. The Life Aquatic begins just after Zissou's best friend, Esteban du Plantier, has been eaten by something called the Jaguar Shark. Zissou vows revenge and, with his faithful crew and possibly illegitimate son, Ned, sets off to hunt down the creature.
As most reviewers didn't try to analyze the possible meaning of The Life Aquatic, I'll take a crack at it: I think that the film is about growing old and death. The film begins with the aforementioned death of Zissou's best friend, an event that has sent Zissou into a deep depression. His latest film has not been received well and his career appears to be crumbling around him. Zissou's vow of revenge upon the Jaguar Shark, is a vow of revenge upon death itself. Zissou can't and won't accept that growing old and death are a part of life. The only thing that he can think to do is destroy the thing that has robbed him of his best friend and that is also a reminder of his own mortality.
Notice too, all the dead people that either appear or are mentioned in the course of the film: Ned tells Zissou early in the film that his mother committed suicide after a long bout with cancer. We learn that Zissou's mentor, Lord Mandrake, died many years ago. When Zissou arrives at his island, the first thing that his wife, Eleanor, tells him is that his cat has died. Zissou kills a pirate during a raid on his ship. A key character dies near the end of the voyage. Death surrounds Zissou, he cannot escape it. Only at the end of the film, when he finds the Jaguar Shark, is he able to accept death as a part of life. Instead, of trying to kill the beast, he is brought to tears by its beauty.
I know this analysis sounds pretty heavy-handed but I can assure you that it's played out with a lot more playfulness and subtlety in the film. I'm just surprised that the critics either couldn't or wouldn't see beyond Anderson's mise-en-scene. All I can think is that they had such a strong reaction to The Life Aquatic's "cuteness" that they didn't even want to look for any meaning in it. I know there's a lot on the surfaces of Anderson's films, but there's a lot underneath too.
It goes to show that you should never trust a critic. ¶ 8:46 AM
When The Life Aquatic came out last December, I was interested but noticed that most of the reviews were negative, so I didn't make much of a point to see it. The critics wrote en masse that Wes Anderson's propensity toward cuteness and art direction had finally caught up with him, swallowing any semblance of a narrative structure to the film. I don't think that I read a single review that attempted to analyze any of the film's content. If you had asked me, based upon the reviews, what The Life Aquatic was about, I probably would have said that it was just a bunch of cute sets shot in bold colors with no story.
I finally saw The Life Aquatic at the Brew N' View in early April, (with my co-worker Lord Guy Keating), and it was a very pleasant surprise. I laughed a lot, was moved by several scenes , and, yes, thought it looked great. However, considering that I saw it at the Brew N' View, I was still doubtful. I thought that the beer and cigarettes might have been the reason that I had such a good time and not the film itself. So, I decided to see it again when it came out on DVD this Tuesday.
I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed the Life Aquatic just as much the second time around, if not more so.
I won't go into the plot in detail: Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau-like undersea adventurer and film-maker. The Life Aquatic begins just after Zissou's best friend, Esteban du Plantier, has been eaten by something called the Jaguar Shark. Zissou vows revenge and, with his faithful crew and possibly illegitimate son, Ned, sets off to hunt down the creature.
As most reviewers didn't try to analyze the possible meaning of The Life Aquatic, I'll take a crack at it: I think that the film is about growing old and death. The film begins with the aforementioned death of Zissou's best friend, an event that has sent Zissou into a deep depression. His latest film has not been received well and his career appears to be crumbling around him. Zissou's vow of revenge upon the Jaguar Shark, is a vow of revenge upon death itself. Zissou can't and won't accept that growing old and death are a part of life. The only thing that he can think to do is destroy the thing that has robbed him of his best friend and that is also a reminder of his own mortality.
Notice too, all the dead people that either appear or are mentioned in the course of the film: Ned tells Zissou early in the film that his mother committed suicide after a long bout with cancer. We learn that Zissou's mentor, Lord Mandrake, died many years ago. When Zissou arrives at his island, the first thing that his wife, Eleanor, tells him is that his cat has died. Zissou kills a pirate during a raid on his ship. A key character dies near the end of the voyage. Death surrounds Zissou, he cannot escape it. Only at the end of the film, when he finds the Jaguar Shark, is he able to accept death as a part of life. Instead, of trying to kill the beast, he is brought to tears by its beauty.
I know this analysis sounds pretty heavy-handed but I can assure you that it's played out with a lot more playfulness and subtlety in the film. I'm just surprised that the critics either couldn't or wouldn't see beyond Anderson's mise-en-scene. All I can think is that they had such a strong reaction to The Life Aquatic's "cuteness" that they didn't even want to look for any meaning in it. I know there's a lot on the surfaces of Anderson's films, but there's a lot underneath too.
It goes to show that you should never trust a critic. ¶ 8:46 AM
