Retrospective: 6 Wes Anderson Films

Bottle Rocket (1996/US)   **

Three incompetent young men plan and embark on a life of crime.

Thin and familiar but consistently witty little independent feature that set its stars and its director on interesting paths.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – David Wasco

m – Mark Mothersbaugh

ed – David Moritz

cos – Karen Patch

p – Cynthia Hargrave, Polly Platt

Cast: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, James Caan, Robert Musgrave, Lumi Cavazos, Ned Dowd

Rushmore (1999/US)   *

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A precocious 15-year-old student and a wealthy businessman compete for the affections of a school teacher.

Peculiar little comedy about youthful determination that becomes tired rather quickly. The fun is in the details.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – David Wasco

m – Mark Mothersbaugh

ed – David Moritz

cos – Karen Patch

p –Barry Mendel, Paul Schiff

Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, Connie Nielsen, Luke Wilson, Stephen McCole, Kumar Pallana

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001/US)   ***

A selfish lawyer who has run out of money attempts to weasel back into his family, all of whom are geniuses, after abandoning them twenty years ago.

Brilliantly deft, exquisitely detailed, endlessly witty comedy; it is written and performed with a delicate touch that proves irresistible.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Owen Wilson

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – David Wasco

m – Mark Mothersbaugh

ed – Dylan Tichenor

cos – Karen Patch

p – Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin

Cast: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Danny Glover, Bill Murray, Seymour Cassel, Kumar Pallana, Alec Baldwin

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004/US)   *

With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, an oceanographer rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

Like the ocean itself, this is a rather queasy film overall, with scenes and situations coming and going without any real reason. But as always with this director, the details of the craftwork are always interesting.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – Mark Friedberg

m – Mark Mothersbaugh

ed – David Moritz

cos – Milena Canonero

p – Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin

Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, Bud Cort

The Darjeeling Limited (2007/US)   **

One year after their father's funeral, three brothers travel across India by train in an attempt to find their mother.

Ultimately minor, but always enjoyable road-film with the director’s influence from other filmmakers most evident. Characteristically, it is strikingly handmade and the delicate touch from all involved charms to no end.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – Mark Friedberg

ed – Andrew Weisblum

cos – Milena Canonero

p – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Scott Rudin

Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston, Waris Ahluwalia, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Bill Murray, Camilla Rutherford, Barbet Schroeder, Irrfan Khan

Fantastic Mr Fox (2009/US)   ***

An urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.

Making his first animated feature, this feels somewhat like a distillation of the director’s previous work (at least more than usual). It is spirited, delightful and visually striking throughout.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach   (Based on the Book by Roald Dahl)

ph – Tristan Oliver

pd – Nelson Lowry

m – Alexandre Desplat

ed – Andrew Weisblum

p – Wes Anderson, Allison Abbate, Jeremy Dawson, Scott Rudin

Cast: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Chase Anderson, Wallace Wolodarsky, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guinness, Helen McCrory, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Cox, Adrien Brody, Garth Jennings

Crisp Criticism - "Moonrise Kingdom", "Hope Springs", "Holy Motors"

Moonrise Kingdom (2012/US)   ***

In 1965, on an idyllic New England island, an unpopular boy at a Scout summer camp and the disgruntled young daughter of attorney parents run away together.
One of its director's best films: in his typical and deliberate artificial aesthetic, he accomplishes here an affectionate and sincere human connection both with his characters and his audience. Painstakingly detailed, exquisitely designed and consummately endearingly.

d – Wes Anderson

w – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola

ph – Robert D. Yeoman

pd – Adam Stockhausen

m – Alexandre Desplat

ed – Andrew Weisblum

cos – Kasia Walicka-Maimone

p – Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Jeremy Dawson, Steven M. Rales

Cast: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban

Hope Springs (2012/US)   **

The woman of a couple, who have been married for thirty-one years, feels that their marriage is at a crisis and seeks couples therapy.

Tender and respectful depiction of a characteristic 30-year marriage that convinces for the most part. It owes a lot to its lead performances.

d – David Frankel

w – Vanessa Taylor

ph – Florian Ballhaus

pd – Stuart Wurtzel

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Matt Maddox, Steven Weisberg

cos – Ann Roth

p – Todd Black, Guymon Casady

Cast: Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, Steve Carell, Elisabeth Shue, Jean Smart, Ben Rappaport, Marin Ireland, Mimi Rogers, Becky Ann Baker

Holy Motors (2012/France)   ***

A man travels between multiple parallel lives as he driven through Paris in a limousine.

A weird and wonderful film; it encapsulates almost all of cinema’s imaginative storytelling devices and conveys them through one man, whose heart aches as much as the cinema’s. It is delightful in its stylistic gameplay, cunning in its emotive power and never ceases to surprise with each succeeding scene.

wd – Leos Carax

ph – Caroline Champetier

pd – Florian Sanson

ed – Nelly Quettier

cos – Anais Romand

p – Martine Marignac, Albert Prevost, Maurice Tinchant

Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Kylie Minogue, Eva Mendes, Michel Piccoli, Elisa L’Homeau, Jeanne Disson

Crisp Criticism - "Damsels in Distress", "Celeste and Jesse Forever", "Bernie", "The Pirates! Band of Misfits"

by

Julien Faddoul

Damsels in Distress (2012/US)   **


A trio of girls set out to change the male-dominated environment of a college campus, and to rescue their fellow students from depression, grunge and low standards of every kind.


Another one of Stillman’s uber-dry delineations of twenty-something intelligence and the arrogance that comes with it. This one works best when it isn’t being too judgmental.
 

wd – Whit Stillman

ph – Doug Emmett

pd – Elizabeth J. Jones

m – Mark Suozzo

ed – Andrew Hafitz

cos – Ciera Wells

p – Whit Stillman

Cast: Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Carrie MacLemore, Hugo Becker, Ryan Metcalf

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012/US)


A divorcing couple tries to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people.


An inorganic indie slog with faux-idealistic writing and a cast that thinks every gesture they make and every emotion they propel is gold.
 

d – Lee Toland Krieger

w – Rashida Jones, Will McCormack

ph – David Lanzenberg

pd – Ian Phillips

m – Zach Crowie, Sunny Levine

ed – Yana Gorskaya

cos – Julia Caston

p – Lee Nelson, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd

Cast: Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Elijah Wood, Emma Roberts, Eric Christian Olsen, Ari Graynor, Chris Messina, Rich Sommer, Rafi Gavron, Matthew Del Negro

Bernie (2012/US)   **

In small-town Texas, the local, sweet-natured mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow and then kills her.
Dark comedy based on a true story, filled with Linklater humour; enjoyable before it seeps into redundancy.
 

d – Richard Linklater

w – Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth   (Based on the Article by Skip Hollandsworth)

ph – Dick Pope

pd – Bruce Curtis

m – Graham Reynolds

ed – Sandra Adair

cos – Kari Perkins

p – Richard Linklater, Liz Glotzer, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams

Cast: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine, Rick Dial, Sonny Carl Davis, Brandon Smith

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012/UK)   *


A pirate captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals for the Pirate of the year Award.

Fun and often funny Aardman feature, their second with Sony Pictures Animation, but the wit and charm of their earlier films with Dreamworks Animation is lost.
 

d – Peter Lord

co-d – Jeff Newitt

w – Gideon Defoe   (Based on the Book by Gideon Defoe)

ph – Frank Passingham

pd – Norman Garwood

m – Theodore Shapiro

ed – Justin Krish

p – Peter Lord, David Sproxton, Julie Lockhart

Cast: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Lenny Henry, Brian Blessed, Russell Tovey, Brendan Gleeson, Ashley Jensen