Post by WilsonFreak on Dec 26, 2004 3:32:19 GMT -5
An article I found from Google Alert. Enjoy! Not a good review over all, but nice things about Owen!
Life Aquatic's all wet
By Jan Stuart
Newsday
Posted December 25 2004
The life cinematic of filmmaker Wes Anderson is awhirl with losers and overachievers who find common ground in family. They may be an eccentrically conventional unit in the manner of The Royal Tenenbaums. Or they may be ad hoc families that coalesce through unconventional relationships (the student-tycoon-teacher triangle in Rushmore) or dire straits (the larcenous pals in Bottle Rocket, which drew much of its familial tension from the teaming of brothers Owen, Luke and Andrew Wilson).
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou combines bits of all of the above, teaming Anderson vets Bill Murray and Owen Wilson in a surrogate but possibly authentic father-son alliance. That it falls dismayingly short of the director's previous efforts just might be attributed to the fact that the puckish Wilson, a key member of Anderson's creative family, has abdicated his ongoing role as co-screenwriter.
Fresh from his triumphant flirtation with vulnerability in Lost in Translation, Murray resumes his usual dyspeptic mask as Zissou, an oceanographer-documentarian with a self-styled celebrity in the manner of Jacques Cousteau. The camera rolls selectively on Zissou, who micromanages events in his life according to what would play most effectively onscreen. Stingrays, seahorses and his wife, Eleanor (the typically underutilized Anjelica Huston), are mere spear carriers in the continuing reality series in which Zissou is the star.
Thus, when his exploration partner is devoured by a shark, Zissou dives opportunistically into a search for the predator. As if his revenge mission didn't provide enough dramatic fodder, Zissou receives a surprise visit from a young officer named Ned (Wilson), who claims to be his long-lost son. The prodigal father brands Ned with his surname, drums him into his motley crew of interns and landlubbers, and works the family reunion angle for all its human-interest potential.
Would that Anderson shared his chief protagonist's instinct for the juicy story. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou launches with enormous promise, then sinks into a quagmire of misfired humor and misbegotten characters. Foremost among the latter is Willem Dafoe in an embarrassing turn as a territorial first mate threatened by Ned's arrival.
Cate Blanchett is also on board as a journalist researching a tell-all profile of Zissou, only to find herself the romantic object of father and son's affections. Unlike Dafoe, Blanchett doesn't have it in her constitution to give a downright lousy performance, but her character rarely rises above the level of monkey in the middle.
Only Wilson locates a place in our hearts: He and longtime collaborator Anderson have a fraternal chemistry that taps into the soul of the frolicsome blond actor. One wonders what could have been if Wilson had a hand in the screenplay, as he did in the director's other films. Anderson and his new co-writer, Noel Baumbach, throw in pirates and a climactic shark chase, but nothing gels. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou bobs in place, a stillborn whale.
Life Aquatic's all wet
By Jan Stuart
Newsday
Posted December 25 2004
The life cinematic of filmmaker Wes Anderson is awhirl with losers and overachievers who find common ground in family. They may be an eccentrically conventional unit in the manner of The Royal Tenenbaums. Or they may be ad hoc families that coalesce through unconventional relationships (the student-tycoon-teacher triangle in Rushmore) or dire straits (the larcenous pals in Bottle Rocket, which drew much of its familial tension from the teaming of brothers Owen, Luke and Andrew Wilson).
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou combines bits of all of the above, teaming Anderson vets Bill Murray and Owen Wilson in a surrogate but possibly authentic father-son alliance. That it falls dismayingly short of the director's previous efforts just might be attributed to the fact that the puckish Wilson, a key member of Anderson's creative family, has abdicated his ongoing role as co-screenwriter.
Fresh from his triumphant flirtation with vulnerability in Lost in Translation, Murray resumes his usual dyspeptic mask as Zissou, an oceanographer-documentarian with a self-styled celebrity in the manner of Jacques Cousteau. The camera rolls selectively on Zissou, who micromanages events in his life according to what would play most effectively onscreen. Stingrays, seahorses and his wife, Eleanor (the typically underutilized Anjelica Huston), are mere spear carriers in the continuing reality series in which Zissou is the star.
Thus, when his exploration partner is devoured by a shark, Zissou dives opportunistically into a search for the predator. As if his revenge mission didn't provide enough dramatic fodder, Zissou receives a surprise visit from a young officer named Ned (Wilson), who claims to be his long-lost son. The prodigal father brands Ned with his surname, drums him into his motley crew of interns and landlubbers, and works the family reunion angle for all its human-interest potential.
Would that Anderson shared his chief protagonist's instinct for the juicy story. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou launches with enormous promise, then sinks into a quagmire of misfired humor and misbegotten characters. Foremost among the latter is Willem Dafoe in an embarrassing turn as a territorial first mate threatened by Ned's arrival.
Cate Blanchett is also on board as a journalist researching a tell-all profile of Zissou, only to find herself the romantic object of father and son's affections. Unlike Dafoe, Blanchett doesn't have it in her constitution to give a downright lousy performance, but her character rarely rises above the level of monkey in the middle.
Only Wilson locates a place in our hearts: He and longtime collaborator Anderson have a fraternal chemistry that taps into the soul of the frolicsome blond actor. One wonders what could have been if Wilson had a hand in the screenplay, as he did in the director's other films. Anderson and his new co-writer, Noel Baumbach, throw in pirates and a climactic shark chase, but nothing gels. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou bobs in place, a stillborn whale.