Director: Spike Jonze
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano
Running Time: 101 minutes (plus trailers)
“Let the wild rumpus start!”
Spike Jonze’s first two films are both amongst my favourite films of all times. Both written by the inspired screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Being John Malkovich tells the story of a lonely and depressed puppeteer who discovers a porthole into the mind of actor John Horatio Malkovich, whilst Adaptation follows a fictionalized version of Kaufman himself as he attempts to write an adaptation of a book but ends up writing a screenplay about his experiences…writing an adaptation of a book. Both films are pretty weird but are also endlessly creative, with a quirky and entertaining style that has made Jonze a favourite of mine and many others.
It’s been seven years since the release of Adaptation, during which time Jonze has continued to direct music videos as well as working on his third feature film, an adaptation of the much beloved childrens book Where the Wild Things Are. Jonze has been attached to the project since the beginning of the decade, but the film’s production was marred by delays, rewrites, and rumours surfaced that Warner Brothers were so unhappy with the film that they wanted to reshoot the entire thing. There was significant concern amongst the online film community that Jonzes vision would be somehow compromised by studio interference; that the dark and beautiful film we were promised would be transformed into something deemed more commercial and kid friendly.
Now the film is here, it seems as though Jonze has in fact produced the movie he originally intended too. Where the Wild Things Are is a beautifully shot film that captures with astonishing ease the wonders and frustrations of childhood. It features a terrific central performance from child actor Max Records, on whose shoulders the film largely rests, as well as some great voice work by the supporting cast of renowned actors. This is the movie that people were hoping for; in many ways it is the movie I was hoping for. It is gorgeous and heartfelt and I have little doubt that this is Spike Jonzes true vision for Where the Wild Things Are. And yet despite this, I have not been more disappointed by a film all year.
For all its artistic merit and hipster credibility, for all its stunning cinematography and catchy indie tunes from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead vocalist Karen O, for all its earnest and genuine portrayals of childhood and impressive combination of practical and computer effects used to bring the Wild Things to life, this movie does not succeed in telling a decent story. I suppose this is the folly of adapting a book that is only ten sentences long. The film obviously expands a great deal on the source material, a story about a boy who after an argument with his mother travels to a far away land where the monstrous inhabitants make him their king. But even with all the additions in the script, the movies’ story feels as threadbare and uninteresting as the children’s picture book on which it is based.
This first twenty minutes of the film, before Max has even left home, are my favourite. We are introduced to our hero, a little boy with a vivid imagination whose feelings of loneliness are compounded by his parents’ separation and the appearance of his mothers’ new boyfriend. These scenes felt incredibly true to life and the acting from Max Records as Max and Catherine Keener as his overworked mother, are terrific. But once Max enters his fantasy world, it wasn’t long before I found myself totally disconnected from the story. There’s the initial period of wonder as you marvel at the Wild Things themselves (who do all look very impressive), but after that the movie doesn’t really go anywhere and my attention soon started to wander.
It seems clear to me that this is the intention; that Jonze and crew have very intentionally tried to make the film go places we haven’t seen before. This isn’t a traditional kid’s film, and it explores weighty issues such as divorce and a child’s feelings of abandonment with great skill. But to be honest I didn’t really care. Wild Things is a very pretty and probably a very profound film, but sitting in the audience it just felt kind of pointless. And plotwise, it's certainly not that funny or dramatic or interesting even…at least I didn’t think so. In fact at a certain point, I just thought it was boring. The general critical consensus has been far more positive than my own review, and I don’t want to dismiss the film completely because I definitely think there’s something here. I just wasn’t able to find it. And it certainly doesn't seem like it was worth seven years of a very talented directors time.
Where the Wild Things Are is in theatres in Australia now
Starring: Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Catherine O’Hara, Forest Whitaker, Paul Dano
Running Time: 101 minutes (plus trailers)
“Let the wild rumpus start!”
Spike Jonze’s first two films are both amongst my favourite films of all times. Both written by the inspired screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Being John Malkovich tells the story of a lonely and depressed puppeteer who discovers a porthole into the mind of actor John Horatio Malkovich, whilst Adaptation follows a fictionalized version of Kaufman himself as he attempts to write an adaptation of a book but ends up writing a screenplay about his experiences…writing an adaptation of a book. Both films are pretty weird but are also endlessly creative, with a quirky and entertaining style that has made Jonze a favourite of mine and many others.It’s been seven years since the release of Adaptation, during which time Jonze has continued to direct music videos as well as working on his third feature film, an adaptation of the much beloved childrens book Where the Wild Things Are. Jonze has been attached to the project since the beginning of the decade, but the film’s production was marred by delays, rewrites, and rumours surfaced that Warner Brothers were so unhappy with the film that they wanted to reshoot the entire thing. There was significant concern amongst the online film community that Jonzes vision would be somehow compromised by studio interference; that the dark and beautiful film we were promised would be transformed into something deemed more commercial and kid friendly.
Now the film is here, it seems as though Jonze has in fact produced the movie he originally intended too. Where the Wild Things Are is a beautifully shot film that captures with astonishing ease the wonders and frustrations of childhood. It features a terrific central performance from child actor Max Records, on whose shoulders the film largely rests, as well as some great voice work by the supporting cast of renowned actors. This is the movie that people were hoping for; in many ways it is the movie I was hoping for. It is gorgeous and heartfelt and I have little doubt that this is Spike Jonzes true vision for Where the Wild Things Are. And yet despite this, I have not been more disappointed by a film all year.For all its artistic merit and hipster credibility, for all its stunning cinematography and catchy indie tunes from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs lead vocalist Karen O, for all its earnest and genuine portrayals of childhood and impressive combination of practical and computer effects used to bring the Wild Things to life, this movie does not succeed in telling a decent story. I suppose this is the folly of adapting a book that is only ten sentences long. The film obviously expands a great deal on the source material, a story about a boy who after an argument with his mother travels to a far away land where the monstrous inhabitants make him their king. But even with all the additions in the script, the movies’ story feels as threadbare and uninteresting as the children’s picture book on which it is based.
This first twenty minutes of the film, before Max has even left home, are my favourite. We are introduced to our hero, a little boy with a vivid imagination whose feelings of loneliness are compounded by his parents’ separation and the appearance of his mothers’ new boyfriend. These scenes felt incredibly true to life and the acting from Max Records as Max and Catherine Keener as his overworked mother, are terrific. But once Max enters his fantasy world, it wasn’t long before I found myself totally disconnected from the story. There’s the initial period of wonder as you marvel at the Wild Things themselves (who do all look very impressive), but after that the movie doesn’t really go anywhere and my attention soon started to wander.It seems clear to me that this is the intention; that Jonze and crew have very intentionally tried to make the film go places we haven’t seen before. This isn’t a traditional kid’s film, and it explores weighty issues such as divorce and a child’s feelings of abandonment with great skill. But to be honest I didn’t really care. Wild Things is a very pretty and probably a very profound film, but sitting in the audience it just felt kind of pointless. And plotwise, it's certainly not that funny or dramatic or interesting even…at least I didn’t think so. In fact at a certain point, I just thought it was boring. The general critical consensus has been far more positive than my own review, and I don’t want to dismiss the film completely because I definitely think there’s something here. I just wasn’t able to find it. And it certainly doesn't seem like it was worth seven years of a very talented directors time.
Where the Wild Things Are is in theatres in Australia now
