We all know, by now, that Wes Anderson, the
mastermind behind the dark comedies Bottle Rocket,
Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and now
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, is one hell of a
guy. His sense of quirky deadpan has made for some
extremely entertaining movies, which are all amusing in
their own eccentricities. However, as much as I enjoy
Anderson’s thoughts when committed to film, I’m not sure
I could stand myself, if I had to live inside of his
head. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou serves
as concrete proof of this. The creation of dark comedy
can be very rough; in order for it to work, it must
carefully define a line between pathetic and amusing
behavior. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,
unlike Anderson’s previous movies, feels as though it
was messily and unsurely assembled. As I watched it, I
got the feeling that its usually ingenious
director/co-writer decided to fling anything and
everything that came across his mind during his creative
process onto the screen. In essence, the movie is
a trip inside Anderson’s head, for better or for worse.
Bill Murray plays Steve Zissou,
a Jacques-Cousteau-like oceanographer who produces and
directs documentaries which follow he and his crew’s
adventures at sea, aboard their bizarre ship, the
Belafonte. Over the years, these have become far less
interesting than the standard episode of “The Crocodile
Hunter”, but strangely continue to attract numerous
viewers, most of whom end up loathing them. However,
Captain Zissou’s voyages at sea heat up when his best
friend is eaten by a Jaguar Shark. In the video
chronicling the event, Steve is frantic, but to what
seems to be an artificial extent. Many accuse him of
staging the incident; he thinks such thoughts are
disrespectful to the memory of his deceased buddy. In
order to prove his critics wrong and avenge the death of
his friend, Steve sets out at sea with his crew, for the
sole purpose of finding the shark and killing it.
Joining the regular cast of characters for the ride are
newcomer Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), who may be Steve’s
son, and a fiery and pregnant reporter named Jane
Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett).
All of the performances in the
film are top-notch and some of them even strike notes of
comedic genius. Blanchett, in particular, is very funny,
although it would be hard to deny that the movie belongs
to anyone but the over-the-top and playfully silly
Murray. Also, for what it’s worth, Willem Dafoe’s
supporting work in his very small role is genuinely
amusing and definitely worth mentioning.
Ultimately, Anderson weaves
together a thoroughly likable movie, although it is
never really hysterical. I chuckled several times at the
subtle nuances in each of the performances and some of
the clever word-play in the script, but never once burst
out in laughter, during the film’s duration. The reason
for this, I think, is the unnecessary amount of excess
in the film. At nearly two hours, much of The Life
Aquatic with Steve Zissou’s dull material could’ve
been helpfully filtered out. It would be easy for me to
blame the movie’s editors, David Moritz and Daniel R.
Padgett, for not encouraging Anderson to cut certain
scenes, but I don’t think that they’re the ones at
fault. When watching the film, I felt as though the
director/co-writer was unsure of the exact purpose he
wanted it to serve, other than simply entertaining
audiences. As a result, viewers will be able to adore
its amusing material, as well as be bombarded by many of
Anderson’s uncertain, unfinished thoughts. The Life
Aquatic with Steve Zissou makes for a fun time at
the movies, but that does not mean that it isn’t plagued
with setbacks, as well.
-Danny, Bucket Reviews (12.27.2004)