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The Life Aquatic 2004 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Wes Anderson
R, 118 min. (language, some drug use, violence, partial nudity) |
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Starring: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, M. Gambon, Noah Taylor
Producers: Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin
Screenplay: Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach
Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Released: 12.10.04 (Limited), 12.25.04 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
Director Wes Anderson's quirky yet innovative filmmaking make for anticipated theater; the offbeat wonders of Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums
lurk at the forefront of his latest venture, The Life Aquatic, but somehow the finished product seems unpolished and strangely superficial. Irony and humor form the
crux of Anderson's one-two punch of comedic timing, and although there are plenty of laughs to be found here, one can't help but wonder if this is truly the finished product
on screen. There are elements of ingenius and captivating filmmaking, especially the vivid color pallette and visually alluring underwater effects (which are a cross between
clay-mation and pastels), which allow the film to develop a subplot of its own to alleviate the emotionally-light storyline. It comes as a surprise that Anderson's multi-talented
cast is underused and left grasping for meatier material. However, led by Bill Murray, the cast finds the right notes to keep the proceedings from falling apart.
Steve Zissou (Murray), a famous oceanographer in the twilight of his career, sets out to exact revenge upon the "jaguar shark" that ate his best friend. His documentaries,
once thrilling and alive, have turned boring and uninspired; audiences seem disinterested. His ship, the Belafonte, is a multilevel research vessel that houses his
team. They include his apathetic wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), right-hand man Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe), producer Oseary Drakoulias (Michael Gambon), and
financier Bill (Bud Cort). Also on hand are unpaid interns and other assistants. To complicate matters, Steve's estranged son, Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), appears
on the scene for a crash course on life aboard the ship. Along their way to find the shark the team encounters myriad problems, including faulty equipment, pirates, and
the presence of a reporter, Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett), who becomes the center of a love triangle between Steve and Ned. In the middle of the chaos,
Steve is desperately trying to evaluate his waning career and life mistakes, which have cost him the zeal for his work that he once had.
The expected Anderson idiosyncracies are on hand, including dated attire for the Zissou team (complete with red beanies and speedos), musical numbers by David Bowie
(which are sung by a team member strumming a guitar), and zany touches such as musical helmets and camera mounted dolphins. The characters and relationships on board
the vessel are somewhat forced and unbelievable, yet the moments of levity provided by Murray help to smooth over rough patches in the screenplay. This is not a
performance on the level of last year's career effort in Lost in Translation,
but there are still glimpses of the self-loathing intermingled with humor that make Murray one of the more popular actors today. He is flanked by a solid supporting role from
Willem Dafoe, whose Klaus always feels slighted and taken for granted. Wilson is slighty misused as is Cate Blanchett, who seems to make any role her own.
The Life Aquatic has all the pieces in place to produce the kind of entertainment that marked Anderson's previous efforts, but the combination of an underwhelming screenplay
and skin-deep characters holds it back. By no means is this a bad film, just a slight disappointment for someone of Anderson's stature in the cinephile world. There is still enough
here to garner a mild recommendation, especially for those who appreciate Anderson's brand of humor. This a lighter effort, a film that treads water more than it swims, and
without the presence of Murray could have collapsed quickly.
© 2004 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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