DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ****1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ****1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING Bill Murray as STEVE ZISSOU Owen Wilson as NED PLIMPTON Cate Blanchett as JANE WINSLETT-RICHARDSON Anjelica Huston as ELEANOR ZISSOU Willem Dafoe as KLAUS DAIMLER Jeff Goldblum as ALISTAIR HENNESSEY Michael Gambon as OSEARY DRAKOULIAS Rated R Studio: Touchstone Directed by: Wes Anderson Back to DVD Review Home |
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To be honest, when I first saw “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” in the theaters, I was less than impressed. I think it had a lot to do with my sincere love for Wes Anderson’s previous film “The Royal Tenenbaums.” You just don’t get a more perfect film than “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
It reminded me of what it was like to watch “Magnolia.” Where P.T. Anderson perfected his style with “Boogie Nights,” he was consumed by it with “Magnolia.” Such was the case, it first appeared, with “The Life Aquatic.”
While some cinemaphiles rank “Rushmore” to be Anderson’s crowning achievement, I will always defer to “Tenenbaums.” And many of the style choices Anderson makes in “The Life Aquatic” seemed to be direct rip-offs of “Tenenbaums.” But in watching “The Life Aquatic” again on DVD, I realized that Anderson was not consumed by his own style, but rather he embraced his style as his own practice in filmmaking.
“The Life Aquatic” is a thinly veiled homage to the life of Jacques Coustou. And while the lawyers at Disney decided to bleep any reference to Coustou from the commentary track, it’s no big surprise who served as inspiration to this film. It sure as heck isn’t inspired by beauty queen Shawn Weatherly and her cheesy series “Oceanquest” in the 1980s.
Although the life of Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), the oceanographer-turned-documentarian title character, is riddled with dysfunction - including womanizing, drugs, an illegitimate child, dishonesty and larceny - it is still a homage. You see, the more dysfunction that Wes Anderson heaps onto his characters, the more he loves them. And he really loves Steve Zissou.
This film presents Zissou at a time in his life when things are all going to seed. His funding is falling apart. His best friend is eaten by a shark no one believes exists. And he has just been reunited by his long lost (or rather long ignored) son. As Zissou goes on a quest to find his mysterious Jaguar Shark, his crew faces new challenges that bring them together and tear them apart.
Once again, Anderson assembles a near-perfect cast. Owen Wilson plays against type as a sweet innocent. The normally plain Cate Blanchett manages to be adorable and cold at the same time. And Willem Dafoe delivers a top-notch performance as the emotionally clingy Klaus. Only Jeff Goldblum, who has too much visual pop and too many idiosyncrasies, doesn’t quite blend into Anderson’s world.
This double-disc DVD set is presented by the Criterion Collection. It contains that high degree of special features you might expect from Criterion. In addition to the movie on the main disc, there is a director and writer commentary, a bunch of deleted scenes, and featurette from Starz.
The second disc has extensive behind-the-scenes information. In addition to interviews with the composer Mark Mothersbaugh and stop-motion effects wizard Henry Selick, as well as smatterings of interviews with the cast, there’s two documentaries about the making of the film. The longer one by filmmakers Antonio Ferrera, Albert Maysles and Matthew Prinzing is very old-school. The other edgier documentary is by Gray Gubler, who plays Intern #1. Gubler uses a Michael Moore style to thrust himself into the film and give a humorous look at the set from the point of view of a cast member.
Other neat features include ten David Bowie songs performed in Portuguese by Brazilian cast member Seu Jorge and a Wes Anderson/Noah Baumbach interview segment from an Italian talk show that looks like it was taped off of PBS in the 1970s.
What I love about Anderson’s recent work is that there’s a warmth and welcome to his dysfunction. You can embrace the characters’ flaws like you would the virtues of one from a regular film. In the end, I fell in love with “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.” It still isn’t a masterpiece like “The Royal Tenenbaums,” but for now, it’ll do.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5. Surround Sound. DTS 5.1 Surround. Widescreen (2.35:1). French and Spanish language tracks. Spanish subtitles. English language subtitles for the hearing impaired.
