My favorite book as a kid was Harold and the Purple Crayon. Right underneath that was Where the Wild Things Are. I was obsessed with imagination. As I got older, I kept with the theme with books like A Wrinkle in Time. When my film education began, I always kind of wanted all three of those books to find their way onto the big screen in some way. I kind of figured if I were going to get a Harold and the Purple Crayon movie it would be animated and I never actually expected to get a Where the Wind Things Are movie because, well the book has a grand total of 300 and something words in it. Well, Spike Jonze was not about to let that stop him and for the last like 8 years he has been working on getting this movie made. Much was made of the delays and reshoots and Warner Brothers' displeasure with the dark tone, but with Final cut, Jonze did his best to stay to his original vision and after waiting for what seemed like years and years, the movie has finally been released!
Max(Max Records) is a kid with some serious issues. he chases the cat with reckless abandon. He has massive mood swings and he does not enjoy his mother's new boyfriend. He likes to put his wolf costume on and demand that his mother feed him. He lacks manners, is prone to fits of crying and lashing out at anyone and anything. One night he takes it too far and when he realizes it he takes off. he runs away from home and ends up in a little sail boat. Without fear, Max gets in the boat and sails away until he finds an island that has some light. The island is inhabited by "Wild Things." These Wind Things are creatures with animal style heads, but they walk on two feet and they talk. They are also neuroses riddled depressed individuals unsure of what is going on. In order to avoid being eaten, Max claims to be a king and these creatures are looking for anything to believe in, so they let Max be their king. Together they begin to build this massive fort, they sleep in a big pile and have fun destroying things. Max gets closest to Carol(voiced by James Gandolfini) and this causes all kinds of problems. Every time Max tries to help, things just get worse.
From the opening frame, I was completely enveloped inside this world. Everything about it works for me. The score, the acting, the directing, the tone, the effects, and the vision just hit me with such a powerful force, I had tears in my eyes for the first about 15 minutes. They were not really tears connected to a specific emotion, just tears of how beautiful it all was. Do not get me wrong, the movie is dark, violent, whiny, atmospheric and at times, too subdued, but those are all the reasons it is so beautiful. There is something magical about watching a film maker get to create the exact vision he wanted. Jonze and Maurice Sendak(The author) took great pains with both of their visions on this story and Jonze's filmed version, with a script from Jonze and Dave Eggers, is a powerful trip through the mind of a young boy on the verge of going crazy.
Max Records is a wonderful young presence on screen. He is a fearless little performer and it works to the advantage of the film. He is a cute kid, but he has an edge and he captures all of the sides of Max that Jonze is shooting for here. He has to carry the movie and he nails it all. he gets the quiet solitude of a young boy, but the recklessness as well. He seems to understand the character of Max to be a version of all young boys if things had not worked out so well. We do not know why Max is acting out, really. But that makes things more interesting. He appears capable to great love, but he is also mean and unlikable in parts. His imagination is grand, but it gets him in trouble, as well. The opening 20 minutes he really sets up Max to be someone we love and someone we want to hit, depending on what is going on.
After the opening 20 minutes, the movie shifts gears to the island where the Wild Things are and where Max finally gets to say those key words "Now, let the wild rumpus start." In this case, the rumpus is the destruction of whatever they can find. The Wild Things, each given names and a personality are their own dysfunctional family and Max wants to help. The Wind Things are created with full costumes that look gorgeous and flawless and they the faces are done with this spectacular CGI. There is never any doubt as to what they are feeling from the exquisite facial expressions. Then you add to that they are voiced by the likes of James Gandolfini, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O' Hara, Chris Cooper, Paul Dano and Lauren Ambrose and you have a serious winning team.
The island looks amazing and the giant fort they are building is breath taking. Spike Jonze's visual flare and his great use of light and shadows and interesting close ups mixed with these great wide shots, really keep Where the Wind Things Are from ever being dull. He is also not afraid of conversations. He trusts his audience and his performers that he can just let them walk and talk. The script is a wonderful blend of really funny stuff, genuinely touching stuff and some really dark stuff. Each of the creatures is depressed for one reason or another and almost everything they say has a hint of sadness to it, or an overtly depressing tone. There are times when it gets tough because there is an unrelenting sadness, but Jonze understands enough to know to mix in some funny stuff just when it starts to get too heavy.
Where the Wind Things Are is going to be a polarizing movie, I think. Some will find it too depressing and some will think Max is too whiny or annoying. However, I think I liked it because of all of those reasons. Childhood is a confusing and sad place sometimes and this movie does not shy away from that. Ultimately the movie sends a positive message, but it does not beat you over the head with it. You have to understand the story to understand the theme in the end. The final 10 minutes are incredibly touching and I think you need everything to happen before it in order to fully appreciate what happens in the end. I think it is a creation that fully shows the magic of movie making. I think it is a movie full of creativity, love and passion with a score that fits every single moment exactly. I know that I will be able to listen to the score and remember exactly what was going on during the movie. I love the primal screams in the songs when Max is going crazy and how it can be quiet and just bubbling over exactly when it needs to be.
I cannot say for certain if this is my favorite movie of the year, but it is certainly among the top films of the year. It moved me in ways a movie has not done in quite some time, and I cannot wait to see it again!
Final Grade: A+
No comments:
Post a Comment