Where the Wild Things Are
2009
Directed by Spike Jonze
Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "oh man, Where the Wild Things Are, so awesome," but should you believe the hype? Well, I'd say yes, this is an excellent movie, but perhaps not exactly what you're expecting. The first thing I'll say is don't bring the kids. I'd say that about pretty much any movie at all, because I hate it when your kids are there ruining my moviegoing experience, but really: Wild Things, not particularly for the children. Nonetheless, kids would probably find some things to like about it.
Spike Jonze has managed to turn Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book (which was all of ten pages or so, as far as I can remember) into a wonder of a film. Imaginative, funny, visually stunning, and, most surprisingly to me, full of depth and sadness, this is not your average blockbuster. The story starts on an unexpectedly downcast note with the neglected Max, played with surprising ferocity and depth by Max Records (Brothers Bloom, which I sadly haven't seen yet.) Records is clearly "out of control" at the beginning of the film, as his mother tells him, but he seems to just be begging for more attention. Catherine Keener is good as Max's beleaguered single mom.
After a vicious encounter with his mother, Max runs away from home and literally sails to the land of the Wild Things. As far as I know, these guys (and gals) were portrayed by puppets, but with CG tweaking during post-production to make them more emotive. Amazingly true to Sendak's art, the wild things were pretty impressive. Max lands himself right in the middle and ends up becoming the kind of the wild things. This could easily have been a light-hearted fantasy flick from this point on, but I guess it wouldn't exactly be a Spike Jonze film then. Constantly bickering amongst each other, the wild things are a neurotic family, and for terrible beasts that would just as soon eat you as look at you, they tend to be mostly sorrowful. Their criteria for Max's kinghood? "Can you keep the sadness out?" Of course, this turns out to be more dificult than expected.
2009
Directed by Spike Jonze
Maybe you're thinking to yourself, "oh man, Where the Wild Things Are, so awesome," but should you believe the hype? Well, I'd say yes, this is an excellent movie, but perhaps not exactly what you're expecting. The first thing I'll say is don't bring the kids. I'd say that about pretty much any movie at all, because I hate it when your kids are there ruining my moviegoing experience, but really: Wild Things, not particularly for the children. Nonetheless, kids would probably find some things to like about it.
Spike Jonze has managed to turn Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book (which was all of ten pages or so, as far as I can remember) into a wonder of a film. Imaginative, funny, visually stunning, and, most surprisingly to me, full of depth and sadness, this is not your average blockbuster. The story starts on an unexpectedly downcast note with the neglected Max, played with surprising ferocity and depth by Max Records (Brothers Bloom, which I sadly haven't seen yet.) Records is clearly "out of control" at the beginning of the film, as his mother tells him, but he seems to just be begging for more attention. Catherine Keener is good as Max's beleaguered single mom.
After a vicious encounter with his mother, Max runs away from home and literally sails to the land of the Wild Things. As far as I know, these guys (and gals) were portrayed by puppets, but with CG tweaking during post-production to make them more emotive. Amazingly true to Sendak's art, the wild things were pretty impressive. Max lands himself right in the middle and ends up becoming the kind of the wild things. This could easily have been a light-hearted fantasy flick from this point on, but I guess it wouldn't exactly be a Spike Jonze film then. Constantly bickering amongst each other, the wild things are a neurotic family, and for terrible beasts that would just as soon eat you as look at you, they tend to be mostly sorrowful. Their criteria for Max's kinghood? "Can you keep the sadness out?" Of course, this turns out to be more dificult than expected.
I won't go into the plot anymore. A word on the cinematography: I read somewhere that Spike Jonze wanted the film shot more like a nature program than an action flick. This turns out to be a good decision as it gives the movie more of a gritty, earthy feel. The action scenes are still exhilerating, but it doesn't look like a regular blockbuster.
Jonze hardly needed to raise the indie cred for this film, but it didn't hurt to get Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to work on the soundtrack. I don't know, though, I think that overall, Jonze tried a little too hard to appeal to hipsters with this movie. It doesn't really have a negative impact on the overall film, but if you're like me and you get a little tired of hipsters and their bullshit in general, you might notice it too. Very minor criticism, though.
The only other thing I wanted to say was that I think Max's adventures and troubles with the Wild Things obviously enough relate directly to his homelife and lack of a father figure. Lots of phrases and elements from his home life at the beginning of the movie are reflected in the fantasy element across the seas. I notice this with a lot of kids fantasy movies; like in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy gets home and recognizes the faces of her family as the same people she met in Oz.
Anyway, excellent movie, should be a classic in years to come, but as I said, mostly for adults. I think the primary mood was a typically adult sadness that we tend to feel when looking back on our childhoods.
8.3
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