Where the Wild Things Are
(B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Where The Wild Things Are', adapted from Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, & directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) is a lot of things ... but "wild" isn't one of them. The movie tells the tale of Max (Max Records), a rambunctious & overly sensitive boy who feels alone & misunderstood at home, particularly with his mom (Catherine Keener). To escape, he ventures to his own world of imagination ... where the wild things are. On a cold, wintry evening, Max sets sail & lands on a fantasy island (not unlike Dorothy traveling to Oz) where he meets 7 ominous & mysterious creatures whose emotions & actions are as wild & unpredictable as Max's (each creature represents an element of his own psyche). The 7: Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) represents Max's kind, but lost soul. KW (Lauren Ambrose) represents warmth. Judith & Ira (Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker) are perpetual downers.
You've got Douglas & Alexander - a bird & a goat (Chris Cooper, Paul Dano) - who represent 'the misfit' in Max. And The Bull (Michael Berry Jr.) represents the worrying silence inside of Max. The 'wild things', desperate for a leader, think they've found one in Max. Crowned as their king, Max promises to create a place where he & the 7 creatures will be forever happy. However, Max soon finds that ruling his new kingdom is not as easy as anticipated, & the relationships he forms get on some very shaky ground. During his short stay on the island, Max has some fun, gets scared, mopes about, has some fun again, gets depressed, learns some hardships, & leaves. When all is said & done - even though he feels alone in the world - he decides it's time to buck up, & return home to mommy. A mommy, who - yes, Max - actually loves you whether you realize it or not.
I appreciate the film's vision (expanding on the images & word count of the 9 sentence book). The cinematography is gorgeous (utilizing handheld close-ups, as well as Australia's exotic locales). The costumes (aided by excellent CGI-effect faces - for the creatures) are wonderfully realized from the page to the screen. The voice-work for all the creatures is great. Max Records gives a very nice, subtle performance for a child actor. And Catherine Keener creates - in 3 small scenes - a character more developed than most actors can do in a 90 minute feature length movie. I like how this film is 'about' kids, but not made specifically 'for' them. There's an attempt to convey the innocence, playfulness, loneliness, & misunderstandings that childhood can bring. And there are morsels of understated brilliance scattered throughout: a quiet scene where Max lays at his mom's feet & pulls at her stockings. And I also liked some dry jokes told by the creatures.
All that said, as a whole, 'WTWTA' just didn't do it for me. I recognize the film's attempt to tackle childhood issues; and I understand why Max enters a scary imagination world ... to understand what he's feeling and how to recuperate. But the movie challenged me to enjoy it because everything was so unbelievably dour. Some people will love the movie because of that challenge. But I didn't.
Max (as a character) is kind of annoying, but I also get that he's a lonely 9 yr. old. The creatures are strange ... VERY (I won't go into detail - but kids & adults will likely cringe, at times). And worst of all - the midsection of the film is just too slow & uninvolving. Little happens (a dirt fight, the building of a fort). The characters meander. And the relationships Max has with the creatures offers little depth or revelation. For example (I'm exaggerating, but you'll get the point), most of the dialogue went like this, "The sun is dying". "Stay away from the dog". "She's sad". "I can't find my stick". In other words, meaningless interactions. When Max comes to terms with understanding himself & realizing that his mom must be worried sick about him at home, it's with little help from the creatures. Sure, their personalities represent Max, but emotionally - there was nothing to really expand upon.
Seemingly unimportant events kind of pile up on top of each other. There were ideas to explore, but they needed to be tightly focused - and they weren't. So I couldn't be overly invested in Max's adventure. When Max departs the island, it's obviously meant to be sad, but I sat there dry-eyed & confused. There was no big emotional build up to warrant the necessary emotional closure that's presented onscreen.
'WTWTA' is beautifully crafted & well-intentioned, but my problem with this film is that it does not rely on plot, emotional dimension, or character development ... but on mood, broad themes, & visual stimulation. And I felt a bit cheated; as the necessary components which make-up an exceptional movie were missing. Even the tender last scene felt emotionally clipped. When the credits rolled I thought, 'Oh boy, that was it, huh?'
You've got Douglas & Alexander - a bird & a goat (Chris Cooper, Paul Dano) - who represent 'the misfit' in Max. And The Bull (Michael Berry Jr.) represents the worrying silence inside of Max. The 'wild things', desperate for a leader, think they've found one in Max. Crowned as their king, Max promises to create a place where he & the 7 creatures will be forever happy. However, Max soon finds that ruling his new kingdom is not as easy as anticipated, & the relationships he forms get on some very shaky ground. During his short stay on the island, Max has some fun, gets scared, mopes about, has some fun again, gets depressed, learns some hardships, & leaves. When all is said & done - even though he feels alone in the world - he decides it's time to buck up, & return home to mommy. A mommy, who - yes, Max - actually loves you whether you realize it or not.
I appreciate the film's vision (expanding on the images & word count of the 9 sentence book). The cinematography is gorgeous (utilizing handheld close-ups, as well as Australia's exotic locales). The costumes (aided by excellent CGI-effect faces - for the creatures) are wonderfully realized from the page to the screen. The voice-work for all the creatures is great. Max Records gives a very nice, subtle performance for a child actor. And Catherine Keener creates - in 3 small scenes - a character more developed than most actors can do in a 90 minute feature length movie. I like how this film is 'about' kids, but not made specifically 'for' them. There's an attempt to convey the innocence, playfulness, loneliness, & misunderstandings that childhood can bring. And there are morsels of understated brilliance scattered throughout: a quiet scene where Max lays at his mom's feet & pulls at her stockings. And I also liked some dry jokes told by the creatures.
All that said, as a whole, 'WTWTA' just didn't do it for me. I recognize the film's attempt to tackle childhood issues; and I understand why Max enters a scary imagination world ... to understand what he's feeling and how to recuperate. But the movie challenged me to enjoy it because everything was so unbelievably dour. Some people will love the movie because of that challenge. But I didn't.
Max (as a character) is kind of annoying, but I also get that he's a lonely 9 yr. old. The creatures are strange ... VERY (I won't go into detail - but kids & adults will likely cringe, at times). And worst of all - the midsection of the film is just too slow & uninvolving. Little happens (a dirt fight, the building of a fort). The characters meander. And the relationships Max has with the creatures offers little depth or revelation. For example (I'm exaggerating, but you'll get the point), most of the dialogue went like this, "The sun is dying". "Stay away from the dog". "She's sad". "I can't find my stick". In other words, meaningless interactions. When Max comes to terms with understanding himself & realizing that his mom must be worried sick about him at home, it's with little help from the creatures. Sure, their personalities represent Max, but emotionally - there was nothing to really expand upon.
Seemingly unimportant events kind of pile up on top of each other. There were ideas to explore, but they needed to be tightly focused - and they weren't. So I couldn't be overly invested in Max's adventure. When Max departs the island, it's obviously meant to be sad, but I sat there dry-eyed & confused. There was no big emotional build up to warrant the necessary emotional closure that's presented onscreen.
'WTWTA' is beautifully crafted & well-intentioned, but my problem with this film is that it does not rely on plot, emotional dimension, or character development ... but on mood, broad themes, & visual stimulation. And I felt a bit cheated; as the necessary components which make-up an exceptional movie were missing. Even the tender last scene felt emotionally clipped. When the credits rolled I thought, 'Oh boy, that was it, huh?'