 |
When ocean adventurer and documentarian Captain Zissou looses his bes friend to a jaguar shark, it sets a scene for revenge on the high seas. | score C+ |
moviereview rates films from A (unmissable) to E (unwatchable) |
| FIND A MOVIEREVIEW |
| Cast Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Angelica Huston, Willem Dafoe Director Wes Anderson Screenwriter Wes Anderson Country USA Rating / Running Time M / 118 minutes Australian Release March 2005 Official Site (c) moviereview
2005
ABN 72 775 390 361 |
The Royal Tenenbuam’s
was a minor masterpiece from irreverent auteur, Wes Anderson. His
off-the-wall family comedy brought together a wet-dream cast including
Ben Stiller and Bill Murray. His latest offering, a bizarre blend
loosely based on the hit 1970’s nature programme, The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau,
puts Murray and Stiller’s running-mate, Owen Wilson, on centre
stage with another wet-dream cast including Cate Blanchett, Angelica
Huston, Willem Dafoe and Jeff Goldblum. Steve Zissou (Murray) is a
washed up ocean adventurer who produces cod documentaries for anyone
who will watch them. Now on the trail of a the shark that ate his best
friend, Zissou is joined by airline Captain Ned Plimpton (Wilson) who
may or may not be his son. Ned’s arrival inflames the jealousy of
Zissou’s fawning First Mate (Dafoe) and the ire of his estranged
wife (Huston). A fiery journalist (Blanchett) goes along for a ride
that puts them against their shiny network nemesis (Goldblum). The Life Aquatic
is uber-cool filmmaking at its chilliest. There is a cartoonish zeal to
the design that works in tandem with Anderson’s quirky aesthetic,
one that has its early charms. But irony floats for just so long before
it begins to weigh heavy on the good ship Zissou. What was funny
becomes postured, laced with a strong whiff of attitude. There are some
moments of comic brilliance and the project is not completely arch, but
with this much contrived charm and self-conscious style, by
film’s end it’s hard to say what The Life Aquatic was all about. And frankly, it’s hard to care.
// COLIN FRASER |