Cast: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor
Director: Wes Anderson
Producers: Wes Anderson, Barry Mendel, Scott Rudin
Screenplay: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach
Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh
U.S. Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
For those who have followed director Wes Anderson's career, the quirky nature of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou will come as no surprise. In tone, the film bears more of a resemblance to Anderson's previous effort, 2001's The Royal Tenenbaums, than to his earlier movies. Visually and stylistically, this is a more mature effort. However, the mixture of drama and sly comedy isn't as strong or effective. Although the movie contains its share of clever and amusing moments, there are few laugh-aloud scenes (not necessarily a negative), and the serious aspect of the production is stillborn (necessarily a negative). The characters are not developed in such a way that they worm their way into our affections, so their interaction is obligatory and their fates are only a matter of mild curiosity. Was Anderson so obsessed with the technical and aesthetic aspects of The Life Aquatic that, in the process, he neglected the emotional ones?
Depending on your point of view, the film either pokes fun at or pays homage to the work of legendary deep-sea explorer Jacques Cousteau, whose documentaries during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s opened the eyes of landlubbers to the view beneath the ocean's surface. Like Cousteau, Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is a famous undersea documentarian who has achieved a degree of international fame. There's even a children's fan club that bears his name. But the popularity of Steve's films are fading and he is entering the realm of the "has-been." Then, during a dive, tragedy strikes. His best friend is devoured by what Steve calls a "Jaguar Shark" and the filmmaker, in a nod to Captain Ahab, devotes his life to finding and killing the beast. As he's ready to ship out on his vessel, the Belafonte, two complications enter his life. The first is the arrival of a journalist, Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett), who plans to do an article on Steve, and sets his heart aflutter. The second is the appearance of Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), a young man who proclaims himself to be the proverbial son that Steve never knew he had.
One ingenious element of the film relates to Anderson's decision regarding how to depict the undersea fauna. Instead of relying on real fish, he brought in animator Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) to fashion a variety of brilliantly hued creatures, the likes of which have never been seen in any real body of water. (Consider, for example, the rainbow colored sea horse or the Jaguar Shark.) In addition to livening up The Life Aquatic's palette, this reminds us of the alien and fairy-tale nature of the deep-sea world - a place that is, at least in this film, part Little Mermaid and part Open Water.
Anderson's humor, which is more often understated and witty than bombastic and uproarious, can be found sprinkled liberally throughout the film, and this is what saves The Life Aquatic from becoming a turgid bore. (A topless script girl, action movie parodies, red beanies, and David Bowie songs in Portuguese…) There's not a convincing character to be found, and none of the film's dramatic scenes or emotional catharses have the ring of truth necessary for us to be affected. Father/son stories are often emotionally-laden affairs, but this one left me cold. Anderson wants us to sympathize with Steve and Ned, but he never gets them to the point where they attain a life beyond being mouthpieces for his dialogue.
Anderson's brand of low-key comedy is a perfect fit for Bill Murray, who is at his best when he doesn't have to go over the top. Most of the instances when I chuckled during The Life Aquatic resulted from something Murray did or said. My favorite line (although it won't mean anything to readers who haven't seen the film): "This is gonna hurt." Murray's character does not achieve the three-dimensionality attained by Bob in Lost in Translation, but I fault the writing more than the actor's performance. The other two leads, Owen Wilson (an Anderson "regular") and Cate Blanchett, are lackluster. This is especially surprising in Blanchett's case, because she is almost always stupendous. Scene-stealers in smaller roles include Willem Dafoe as Klaus, an eager-to-please member of Steve's crew; Angelica Huston as Eleanor Zissou, Steve's estranged wife; and Jeff Goldblum as a "part-gay" rival who has more money and better equipment than Steve could ever hope for.
I didn't dislike The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, but I didn't leave the theater with a strong desire to recommend it. It is not as engaging as The Royal Tenenbaums, but about on par with Rushmore and Bottle Rocket. The film strikes me as a better bet for a DVD rental than a theatrical option, but there are enough good things in the movie to keep most viewers interested.
© 2004 James Berardinelli