I've decided to introduce a new series into my blog and these are director appreciations. In this posts I am going to look a director, their style and a selected filmography of their works. To get everyone excited about the release of The Grand Budapest Hotel this week (if you live in Australia, that is) I am going to look at the works of quirky director Wes Anderson.
Wes Anderson has been making films for the last two decades. Over this period of time he has developed a very unique style and is one that everyone is able to identify when watching. Anderson is known for his deadpan comedy, where even the most absurd things (like the marriage of two children) is taken as completely normal, his vivid colours, the sense of family, his completely locked off camera shots (although every film has one sequence where the camera moves freely) and his cast off frequent collaborators which include Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton and Willem Dafoe.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001): This is probably the one film of Wes Anderson's that most people have seen. It follows an estranged family who reunite after their father Royal (played by a wickedly funny Gene Hackman) reveals that he is suffering from a terminal illness. The performances in this film are all wildly funny and there is a great subplot where Bill Murray is studying a boy who has a rare disorder that combines amnesia, dyslexia and colour-blindness.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004): This is my favourite of Anderson's films because it was the first I ever saw and instantly fell in love with his style. The film itself is a parody of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, with Murray playing the titular character. Zissou sets out to make one last film where he will find the shark that killed his best friend. It is an amazingly vibrant film and has my favourite performance from Willem Dafoe ever.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007): This really is the evolution from The Life Aquatic. It follows three brothers who travel to India to bond after not having seen each other in a year. I feel like a part of Anderson was trying to break out of his style with this film. This is Adrian Brody's first film with Anderson and he really fits into his world and style.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012): A really beautiful film about two young children who fall in love and run away from home. After this the entire community gather together to try and find them. This film has a lot of stunning performances, especially from the two young leads, but for me Edward Norton steals the show as an inept scout master.
No comments:
Post a Comment