I’m sure you’re all familiar with legendary Oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). His adventures to far flung corners of the world and the very depths of the sea have thrilled and delighted us for over thirty years. What you may not be aware of is just how personal Zissou’s latest mission is. Whilst making his latest documentary Zissou’s best friend Esteban du Plantier (Seymour Cassel) was savagely killed by the mythological Jaguar Shark, a harrowing scene captured in part one of Zissou’s film. At a recent Q&A session following a showing of the unfinished film, Steve vowed to hunt down Esetban’s killer and destroy him, the scientific purpose of this mission? Revenge…

Further adding to the buzz surrounding this project are the recent revelations about Zissou’s personal life which have been splashed across the gutter press. Speculation about his marriage and his wife Eleanor’s (Anjelica Huston) relationship with her ex-husband (and Zissou’s rival Ocean Explorer) Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum) is something we’ve come to expect; the real shock is the sudden arrival of Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson) a thirty year old Kentucky air co-pilot who claims to be Zissou’s long lost son. With the news that Eleanor is refusing to go along with Zissou’s dangerous (and some would say frivolous) new mission and the surprise addition of Ned to the team this is sure to be one to watch. Thank goodness for the presence of heavily pregnant journalist Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) who’s been allowed to tag along (and hopefully to record for us anything the cameras miss) as Zissou embarks on his most talked about journey in years ‘The Hunt for the Jaguar Shark (Pt. 2)’.

Of course in reality ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ isn’t a documentary, but rather the latest film from 35 year old director Wes Anderson. For those of you unfamiliar with Anderson he is the man responsible for Bottle Rocket, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. He is a contemporary auteur whose style is distinct, original and loved by many loyal fans. ‘The Life Aquatic’ is very much a continuation of the individual style and familiar themes of Anderson’s three earlier films and will no doubt divide critics in the same way.

The script’s major concern is the relationship between a dysfunctional patriarch and his son, a tale of a loveable rogue undergoing a mid-life crisis which causes him to face up to his responsibilities. This will come as no shock to Anderson fans as the father-son bond and the irresponsible, disaffected older man are two themes previously explored by the director in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and to a lesser extent in ‘Rushmore’. Anderson’s familiarity and passion for the subject matter mean we are treated to a very funny and moving account of the development of Steve and Ned’s relationship as well as Zissou’s wider need for redemption. This is all ground, however, that Anderson has covered before and Steve Zissou is in many ways a reprisal of Murray’s character in Rushmore filtered through Gene Hackman’s memorable creation of Royal the flawed father figure in Anderson’s last film.

What else is retained from Anderson’s previous films is the script's trademark wit and sparkling dialogue, despite long time collaborator Owen Wilson’s lack of a writing credit. Too busy being a movie star to write them Wilson is this time only a performer, the surprise is that despite the more obvious comic influence being missing this is perhaps Anderson’s funniest film to date. Laugh out loud funny throughout in fact (though Murray and the rest of the cast’s impeccable delivery must get much of the credit for this).

Jane Winslett-Richardson: You're too old for me, Steve.
Steve Zissou: Yeah, well you're pregnant!

Hollywood has finally given Anderson the opportunity to make the film he no doubt always wanted to. His films have always been slightly outside of reality, developing from the off kilter quirkiness of ‘Bottle Rocket’ through Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums to a point in ‘The Life Aquatic’ which can only be described as Magic Realism. The film positively revels in its falsehood climaxing in a long tracking shot that leads us through Zissou’s ship as if it were a dolls’ house. The director’s trademarks remain in the mid-seventies period touches, chapter titles dividing the action, his ability to make the mundane magical and his fine attention to detail. Stunning cinematography by Robert Yeoman (also responsible for ‘Rushmore’ and ‘Tenenbaums’) shows Italy at its most beautiful and colours the film in turquoise, terracotta and warm, tanned skin.

Magic realism is most evident in the creatures that inhabit Anderson’s underwater world. The seabed resembles an enchanted forest and the life aquatic includes; sugar crabs, rhinestone blue fins, fluorescent snapper and crayon sea horses. Rather than relying on CGI many of these weird and wonderful sea creatures are created using stop motion by the man responsible for ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (Henry Selick) and are given a fairytale quality because of it. Though some of these flashes of unreality could be deemed unnecessary, they just serve to reinforce the fact that ‘The Life Aquatic’ is a film in the details. Detailed, thoughtful and imaginative production design has always been present in Anderson’s work and ‘The Life Aquatic’ is no exception. It is film made extraordinary by pinball machines, 3-legged dogs, Dr. Pepper t-shirts and headed correspondence paper. A film that stands out because of Zissou’s personalised Adidas three stripes (the result of a short-lived mid-eighties sponsorship) and Team Zissou’s matching hats and Speedos.

Where ‘The Life Aquatic’ branches out further than Anderson’s back catalogue is in its action sequences. If there was one thing missing from ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ it was pirates. Here we get explosions, gun fights and helicopter crashes and though our removal from reality diminishes any feeling of real peril the scenes are always handled with Anderson’s unique sense of invention and humour.

If Steve Zissou can be said to be a combination of characters from Anderson’s previous works it’s hardly surprising. Over the years the director has created his own character templates and though there is some repetition here, they are still so far removed from the Hollywood norm as to still feel fresh (the sensitive and heroic ‘Bond Company Stooge’ being a prime example). So the ‘The Life Aquatic’ has a cast of eccentrics such as we’ve come to expect. Anderson started Murray’s recent film renaissance when he persuaded him to star in Rushmore and here he provides a typically brilliant tragicomic performance. Anyone who thinks Anderson’s films lack humanity has only to look in Murray’s eyes in the film’s final scenes to be proven wrong. No one does comedy curmudgeon better and he can convey more depth of emotion in one glance than many actors can in an entire film.

Ned Plimpton is an unusual role for Owen Wilson, being innocent, softly spoken and contained. Wilson is always charming and likeable and this film doesn’t change that; but you can’t help but feel he works better when he has room to show off and adlib. I found myself wondering why Owen was in his brother Luke’s part. Perhaps I’m being unfair to Wilson as it is a fine performance and he should be allowed to stretch his range, but I’d always rather see him as Eli Cash than Richie Tenenbaum and I can’t help but feel he suffers from not having written this part for himself. In such a strong ensemble cast many excellent performances struggle to stand out, Michael Gambon and Jeff Goldblum are fantastic as is Willem Dafoe who shows a very different vulnerable and comic side of his acting talents. Cate Blanchett is a trickier subject as her English accent alone is incredibly grating and distracts from the performance in general. It’s hopefully the case that as her character is called Winslett-Richardson the overly plummy upper class accent is a joke, but it’s still irritating.

Anderson is also famous for his soundtracks and here ‘The Life Aquatic’ does not disappoint. Regular collaborator Mark Mothersbaugh provides the original score but this time combines his usual quirky and playful sound with electro pop, which works surprisingly well and provides a comic highlight as some minimalist electronica is pumped into Zissou’s diving suit. The music can pack a real emotional punch too and does just that when a fade into Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars?’ scores Zissou’s internal reaction to meeting his son. It is David Bowie that provides the soundtrack’s most memorable moments thanks to the covers of his classics by crewmember and troubadour Seu Jorge. Jorge plays acoustic versions translated into Portuguese of (amongst others) ‘Starman’, ‘Rebel Rebel’ and ‘Life on Mars?’ throughout the film, which are both a musical highlight and talking point on the way home.

If you’re not a fan of Anderson’s work this isn’t going to change that. Every criticism levelled at his previous films could easily be applied here. You’ll no doubt think the central characters are over privileged and irritatingly angst ridden, the dialogue is self-conscious and stagey and the world of the film is overly quirky and totally removed from reality. If like me you are a fan you’ll be delighted. Delighted that Anderson has been given the time and money to make a truly magical film that’s witty, lyrical, beautiful and intelligent. The Life Aquatic is a film about detail and is filled with the delights we’ve come to expect from this extraordinary filmmaker.

A subjective five stars *****

Thanks, Zoe. That's a great review - it's obvious you're a fan, but you wouldn't have to be a fan to appreciate your points. I'm really looking forward to seeing this now.



Hilarious!

excellent review.

I thought Blanchett was great in it, but then I would because I love her. I loved the film Zoe, and I agree with almost everything you're saying. I was more disappointed with Wilson's performance than you seem to have been and I feel that the emotional weight that shold have been present in one specific scene was missing, possibly as a direct result.

But yeah I fucking loved it. I give it all the stars.

I was going to write a review of this myself but Zoe mentioned pretty much everything i was going to say. It's a films that made me laugh uncontrollably and also made me cry. I'm completely in love with the film.

Fantastic film, excellent review. I think Zoe's absolutely right about Blanchette's accent, and Willem Dafoe's was my favourite part in the film. The soundtrack's up to Mothersbaugh's usual high standard. I have one more very tenuous Bowie connection. Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy (played during the Bill Murray - Action Hero sequence) was originally mixed by Bowie.

Thanx for that!
I am totally going to see it this week now. I loved the Royal Tenebaums...so this looks like a goodin too!
luvs nix

Yeah, really nice review, Zoe... I'm sold.

Might just get around to ordering a copy of Bottle Rocket while I'm at it!