Even the most devout, dipped-in-water fans of Wes Anderson’s films may say he’s gone off the deep end in his latest film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Despite the dry delivery of Bill Murray as Captain Steve Zissou, this satire of a Jacques Cousteau film treads water in its amusing quirkiness but ultimately sinks due to its overloaded plot. For the record, Team Zissou is on “their most dangerous adventure ever.” Or as Murray’s character succinctly sums it up, “I’m going to go on an overnight drunk and in ten days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it.” Sound familiar? Herman Melville was satisfied with that as enough plot in Moby Dick. But Anderson adds a cast of offbeat misfits, led in a unique and satisfying comic turn by Willem Dafoe. But also along for the ride is a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), who is trying to scoop Zissou. Straight-laced Owen Wilson plays a Kentucky co-pilot looking for his father (is it Zissou?) and the captain’s estranged wife (Anjelica Huston) is the brains behind the oceanographer on a mission. But Anderson doesn’t stop there. He tosses in Jeff Goldblum’s character as a “part-time” gay nemesis, the threat of bankruptcy shutting down Zissou’s documentary filmmaking, a kidnapping, and an attack by real pirates from the Philippines! This plot stew is deep enough to give hearty sea divers the bends and leave audiences in search of a laugh scratching their dizzy heads.
The cast of misfits is reminiscent of Anderson’s last film, the successful The Royal Tenenbaums. But those quirky nuts were certifiably loony, part genius, and, well, family, so we had empathy for them. Who doesn’t have at least one nut in the family tree? Bill Murray played a creepy father figure in that film and here he is an egotistical middle-aged leader in search of funding for his current aquatic documentary that just happens to be about the quest to find the killer shark that ate his friend. He’s often drunk or smoking pot, selfish, opportunistic, brazen, pig-headed, and somehow (thanks to Murray’s fine acting), likeable. But The Life Aquatic… is short on sympathetic characters. Despite Dafoe’s charming Germanic buffoonery, no other character gains our sympathy or tugs at our heartstrings. There is no overachieving Max Fisher with a heart of gold a la Rushmore, Anderson’s wonderful second film.
There is some fine camera work here, including an incredible panning shot of the Zissou ship, the Belafonte, in cutaway, which shows the entire galleys and crew members at their zany finest. In a long, complex, well-choreographed shot we see Dafoe frolicking in a hot tub, Blanchette recording her notes in a journal, Wilson reading in bed, a hand-held cameraman documenting all that happens, Serge Jeu singing yet another David Bowie song (there are over 15 in the film), and even dolphins training in the sea. Anderson had the enormous half-ship built on the stage of Cinecitta Studios in Rome, once made famous by the great Italian filmmaker Fellini.
There are also colorful animated sea creatures designed by Henry Selick. But the animation, like the script, is amusing not fascinating. So as Anderson revels in details like the production design and animation, the characters suffer in substance and depth. These amusing asides do not add up to a laugh and all the plot shenanigans do not add up to a laugh riot (or drama) because we do not care about the characters. As Murray’s Steve Zissou asks about his relationship with his questionable son Wilson, “Are you finding what you’re looking for out here with me?” Even devout fans of Anderson are likely to reply, No, this floundering film has gone belly-up.
+ Eric Stannard
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