The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

April 27th, 2005 10

After months of waiting, and checking cinema listing in vein, I finally got to see this film. So was it worth the wait? Unequivocally (is that a real word??) yes! I absolutely loved it, but it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why. The last offering from Wes Anderson The Royal Tenenbaums was, and I don’t think I’m being too harsh here, the biggest pile of steaming turd ever to grace the cinema screen. But the trailer for this film looked awesome, and Bill Murray is in it, and after seeing Lost in Translation I though this has got to be good.

The film is both slick and polished while at the same time feeling rough around the edges. It’s filmed with a kind of hazy filter which gives it the look of Jacques Costeau’s films. Which I guess given what the film is about was exactly what Anderson was trying to achieve. The sound track, a mix of crappy keyboard dance and acoustic Bowie, was perfect for this picture - Understated and very refreshing.

So should you see this film? It’s not exactly what you would call a run off the mill Hollywood blockbuster, more of an art house picture, which given some of the crap poring out of Hollywood is a no bad thing. If you’re prepared to give it some time, and appreciated it’s humour, you’ll end up loving it too - trust me. 9/10

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