Ever really want to see a movie or hear a record right after it comes out but just never get around to it? And doesn’t it suck that when you finally do get to it, everyone has already taken part and weighed in? For us here at Tangled Up In Wires, it’s a problem we face regularly. That’s where Late Review, a semi-regular feature, comes in. We take a look at something after we’ve been exposed to the review blitz and see just how good something really is. Our first late review? The much discussed Spike Jonez film, Where the Wild Things Are.
As a kid, Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are was a favorite of mine. When I first heard that Spike Jonez was making a film adaptation, I was cautiously optimistic. After all, I’d love Jonez previous two films, Being John Malkovitch and Adaptation, and his music videos were some of the most inventive I’d ever seen. The first trailer for the film, set to the Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” only furthered my excitement for the film. Yet advanced reviews were decidedly mixed. Many praised Jonez and co-writer Dave Eggars for creating their own story while others questioned why an adaptation was even needed in the first place.
Now that I’ve seen the film, I can safely say that it’s an absolutely stunning film that should be considered independently of the book that it’s derived from. Sendak’s book is short, and truthfully, with little plot outside of a young boy, Max, getting in trouble before going to where the wild things are to get out all of his frustration. Jonez and Eggars have taken this idea and expanded it and made it their own. If you forget about the original story, you’ll find the film less an adaptation of a beloved childrens book, and more a story of what it’s like to be a kid.
The Max Where the Wild Things Are the film is every bit as precocious as the Max of the book, but the film gives him far more depth. Played extremely well by Max Records, Max is the neglected youngest son of a split family. He has a teenage sister who, like most teenagers, wants nothing to do with her young brother. His mother (Catherine Keener) faces stress at work and has begun dating again, much to the his displeasure. Early on, he acts out, destroying a popsicle stick heart he made in his sister’s room after her friends hurt him. When his mother gets mad at him for protesting his date, he bites her and flees, finding a boat to take him to a mysterious island.
It is there he meets the Wild Things, here given names. There’s Carol, a defacto leader voiced by James Gandolfini, his best friend Douglass (Chris Cooper), the timid and not listened to Alexander (Paul Dano), Ira (Forrest Whitaker) who is always striving for attention, Judith (Catherine O’Hara) who always has complaints, and KW (Lauren Ambrose), the sweetest member of the group who just wants to have fun. There’s also a silent Bull who sulks in the background quietly. On the Island, Max is proclaimed king and after they have their Wild Rumpus through the woods, he gets them to start building the dream of Carol, a fort where they can be happy, and where anyone they don’t like isn’t welcome. As the project moves along, the personalities of each Wild Thing becomes stronger, and problems ensue. It becomes clearer, also, that each Wild Thing represents one part of Max: Carol’s jealousy, Alexander’s feeling that no one listens to him, and Ira’s persistent attempts at attention each make up a part of Max’s personality and show him exactly what that looks like in him.
Needless to say, the film isn’t a kids film. Kids might enjoy the story of Max running away to be with the Wild Things, but they may not understand the larger themes at work throughout this film. The film isn’t about escaping into a dream world, it’s about the inherent loneliness and confusion that, though often attributed to teenagers, is often overlooked in kids, and the Wild Things personify the major emotions felt by Max. Max gets angry when his sisters friends hurt him, just as Carol and Alexander when they get hurt during a dirt clod fight. Everything that Max teaches to the Wild Things, he also teaches to himself, and the film does a brilliant job of portraying that.
Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. Jonez has outdone himself with the beauty of the surroundings and the way in which he moves the characters about them. The Wild Things are also stunning. A combination of actors in suits and computer generated faces, the Wild Things look real and almost human. I haven’t seen CGI eyes be that expressive before, and it gives emotional depth to the creatures and keeps them from being disconnecting the emotions of the live action Max.
All and all, Wild Things is a good film that memorizes the viewer throughout its 90 minute run time. Like I said, those that can separate the film from the book will enjoy it much more. The book was about escaping into fantasy, and if you can manage to do that, you’ll love the film.
Tangled Up in Wires Grade: B+
Michael
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