"Rushmore" (1998)
Talking about nasty, sulky teenagers, here is a movie about one of them. As I was so delighted with "Grand Budapest Hotel" by Wes Anderson, I decided to check more of him and went back to his filmography - debut "Rocket Bottle" was sweetly kooky shoe-string budgeted little masterpiece and "Rushmore" apparently was Anderson's first big hit. Done with real money, loved by critics and it even has one really big Hollywood name in it.
It all depends how much patience you have for adolescents with maniacal energy and their unbearable ways. Sure, we were all there and its best left forgotten, I for one feel sorry for my parents and what they had to endure. Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson show their usual combination of gentleness, kindness and humour towards characters in their story but no matter how much they tried, they didn't make Max Fischer any more likable or lovable in my eyes - the kid was little Hitler whom I found indescribably repulsive to watch and in real life I would even avoid him completely like a plague or beat him up. What was god were all the other characters about him, like his little gang of friends and all the grown-ups including wonderful Bill Murray who truly does wonders with his simple acting style - by not overacting, he lights up the screen every time he comes around. Unfortunately the movie is not about him but about this obnoxious teenager (I guess Jason Schwartzman did a good job) so I didn't really enjoy this as much as I expected. I even left my opinion to simmer for a few days, but it didn't change - even when the kid finally shuts up, that doesn't mean he becomes more compassionate, he simply sulks and plots further nastiness towards the grown up world. Dangerous kid.
"The Royal Tenenbaums" (2001)
I don't really get why such excitement about this movie, because for me this is just another re-telling of any of Woody Allen 1980s movies ("Hannah and her sisters"comes first to my mind) about privileged dysfunctional family full of eccentrics. But where Allen had serious understanding for characters and their motives, here it all seems somehow artificial and slight. These are not real characters but more like cartoon descriptions of ideas, tons of famous actors used to walk and talk trough completely unrealistic scenes and I just couldn't sit still trough these dialogues without squirming in my chair. Anjelica Houston and Bill Murray kind of gave it some gravity but they are really just a decoration here. And occasional sentimental parts (grandfather teaching his grandsons to relax and enjoy life) seemed so contrived that it just rubbed me all wrong. There are some instances where artificial movies work just fine because I understand director's vision but this one didn't do it for me.
Strangely enough, his next movie was even more artificial but I loved it because it wasn't silly sentimental but really focused more on oddity of lovable characters.
"The Squid and the Whale" (2005)
This is a very serious drama that I had approached with completely false perception that it would be another quirky Wes Anderson movie. Wrong. He produced it but it was directed by Noah Baumbach. I realised something is very different right from the start, since movie did not even look visually like a typical Anderson creation (the guy has a very distinguished visual style, which I happen to like very much). However, it turned out to be so interesting and compulsively watchable that I couldn't take my eyes of the screen, even though it wasn't pleasant at all.
"The Squid and the Whale" is about a breakdown of a family home - in the very first scene we get a hint that things are not really working out between the parents and we also have two boys who are absolutely adorable in their innocence and confused loyalty to their mother and father. As marriage falls apart, both sides are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and go trough extremely difficult and painful times which are even worsened with having to share obligation for kids who are constantly switched between homes. Usually I am not 100% convinced with movies that use serious subjects as "entertainment" but this was different, it was a honest, almost cruelly clear look at what happens to people when they reach mid-life crisis (in every sense) and although it was definitely not a happy or jolly experience, as a drama it was quite unforgettable.
Acting is superb - parents are Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, who are both sensitive and foolish simultaneously, almost like not realising what this all means to kids. Boys are at the heart of the movie and its hugely effective and dramatic performance by both Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline, who both desperately look up to their parents for directions and comfort. What I particularly liked is how director handled potentially melodramatic subject with delicacy and never made a step into mushy direction, where others would probably milk sentimentality for all its worth.
"The Darjeeling Limited" (2007)
I am listening to the soundtrack as I am writing this. Wonderfully zany soundtrack and it has unexpected Debussy, so what is there not to like.
To me, Wes Anderson is like a cool, sensitive and arty son of Woddy Allen: in his work I can find all the qualities that I once loved in Allen's movies but this guy has his own original and particular charm. At this point I think that I would recognize his style even if I am not informed who is director. This time around, the story is not so engaging as much rich with thousands of wonderful little details that create a palette of unforgettable moments. Owen Wilson almost goes back his "Dignan" role from 1996. here, same impulse to always make decisions for others, though later in the movie we get idea where they came from. Both Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman have their moments and it surprised me how often I laughed, first just a little bit than roaring out loud. The colors and locations are spectacular, though I must say they never take over the movie which is simply beautiful to watch. I just love Wes Anderson.
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