The MacGuffins happily select, with their 12th team selection and 302nd overall pick, for entry in the
Wildcard category
:
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Are we...are we safe in here?
I doubt it.
Do you still want to blow him up?
No, we're out of dynamite anyway.
It is beautiful Steve.
Yeah, it's pretty good isn't it. I wonder if it remembers me...
Well, I made it this far without selecting any guilty pleasure movies of mine, IE/ ones that might be a little harder to defend than some of my other more critically-esteemed picks.
The Life Aquatic is flawed, silly, and to some people, completely boring and forgettable. But to me, it's a creative monster, a subtle work of art, and one of my "desert island" picks.
Wes Anderson's movie sets are like an entirely different movie within a movie, and with his largest budget to date for
The Life Aquatic, no detail was spared in creating Steve Zissou's waterworld. Some critics have said that aspect of Anderson's films does nothing to advance his films thematically, and although I don't necessarily agree with that in this case, I don't feel it's wasted or adds nothing to the film. On the contrary, every time I see this one I marvel, often numerous times per scene, at the pinpoint level of detail (sometimes so subtle it's almost invisible) within every square inch of the frame. Every nook and cranny of the ship is sculpted just right, and everything from the costumes to the locations are given careful attention. As said, it's like a world within a world.
It's almost as if his actors take some sort of cue from these fantasy sets Anderson creates in his movies, because they almost always play off their environments in ever-so-gentle ways, letting their non-verbal movements, dry, dry, dry dialogue, and precarious situations do much of the acting for them. It gives his movies a whimsical quality, and
The Life Aquatic is perhaps the most offbeat and quirky of the bunch. I find that endearing and refreshing, almost physically alive with energy.
I remember seeing this one in the theatre and at times, was the only one laughing hysterically as the rest of the people there just stared at the screen. That's pretty representative of Anderson's movies- the long pauses, the obscure references, the awkward/strange dialogue, the dramatic shifts in tone, the ridiculous attention to every last detail. A scene that stands out in my mind is one in which Steve is playing solitaire as Eleanor peers over his shoulder at the cards laid out in front of him. Suddenly, the lights go out, the screen black. While everything is still dark, she says "play the red ten on the black jack," and as the lights come back on, Steve thanks her and makes the move. There are hundreds of little brushstrokes of color sprinkled throught the film just like that, and they always bring a smile to my face.
One more thing- along with a couple of other outstanding films he has made in this latter stage of his career, Bill Murray is an absolute force to be reckoned with and this film is possibly his best work. The film centers around him, and without his Oscar-worthy, nuanced performance as Steve Zissou, the film would not be the same. I don't really know what else to say about him as a dramatic actor- he just has this special "sad clown" quality about him that is both sympathetic and lovable, yet distant and consumed with inner turmoil. My favorite actor, hands down, in one of his all time best roles.
The Life Aquatic is nothing if not unusual, vibrant, and visually eye-popping. While not to everyone's tastes, it will always remain firmly entrenched as one of absolute favorite films, and it belongs on no other team but my own!
