MOVIE
REVIEW:
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
10/13/09
SYNOPSIS: Innovative director Spike Jonze collaborates with celebrated author Maurice Sendak to bring one of the most beloved books of all time to the big screen in "Where the Wild Things Are," a classic story about childhood and the places we go to figure out the world we live in. The film tells the story of Max, a rambunctious and sensitive boy who feels misunderstood at home and escapes to where the Wild Things are. Max lands on an island where he meets mysterious and strange creatures whose emotions are as wild and unpredictable as their actions. The Wild Things desperately long for a leader to guide them, just as Max longs for a kingdom to rule. When Max is crowned king, he promises to create a place where everyone will be happy. Max soon finds, though, that ruling his kingdom is not so easy and his relationships there prove to be more complicated than he originally thought.
REVIEW: When my Eldest son, Dexter, was 3 years old I purchased Maurice Sendak’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, and a stuffed “Carol” doll. That was 13 years ago and we loved the book so much that we basically read it till it fell apart and the only memory we still hold is Carol. So you can imagine that I was truly looking forward to this film and was none too surprised that Dexter also wanted to see it (he still secretly sleeps with Carol).
In Sendak’s version, Max is sent to his room after misbehaving and during his exile, he dreams up the island where the wild things are, thus the name. To be fair, I guess that Max’s tantrum and misbehavior do not seem so incredibly horrendous, possibly because in a book you don’t get the full effect of emotions and reactions. That said, as far as I’m concerned, Spike Jonze interpretation only had one thing going for it. This movie is visually beautiful and impressive. How they were able to recreate the creatures so much like the illustrations of Sendak’s classic and yet not make them cartoony is really amazing. The scenery is incredible, especially due to the fact that the if you remember the story, the island has it all, mountains, forests, deserts and beaches. They have too be given credit for their choice of locations.
The movie version has Max leaving the home after a major tantrum and running until he finds a boat, gets on and after several storms lands on the island where the wild things are. The creatures are large and realistic and ominous. There is a constant feeling of unease, as if you are waiting for the creatures to turn on Max and eat him or each other at any moment. My youngest Ralphie (7) stated that all he learned from the movie was that “…if you get mad, its OK to rip off your friends arm”. In his opinion the movie deserved a 0 star rating. I think the few stars that I’m giving it is due to the above mentioned items which Ralphie can’t truly appreciate. Joshua (11) was a bit kinder, but felt that the lesson that was learned is that violence and misbehavior are OK and that there will be no consequences if you run away.
For my part, I was watching all of the childish thought processes of the film and waiting for the lesson to be learned or message but it never arrived.
On to the actors, well, I can’t blame them, they played their parts as they were written. Gandolfini as Carol is just as bi-polar and intimidating as he was as Tony Soprano. Max Record s as Max, comes off as a very bratty, spoiled child. Now, that may be great acting on his part, or simply be true to his own character. Katherine Keener, playing the mother, is one of my favorite yet under used actresses and she really did not disappoint me but of course her part is quite small. There was one character that I felt I could “see” and feel her emotions and truly appreciate her acting and that was Lauren Ambrose as KW. She was loving and caring and her voice portrayed all of that. So many other awesome actors lent their voices to these characters but you would never know it. People like Chris Cooper, Forest Whitacker, Catherine O’Hara and even the relatively new Paul Dano. Mark Ruffalo’s part as the mother’s boyfriend is maybe 2 minutes long and almost not even worth mentioning except that I love Mark Ruffalo in anything.
To wrap this up, all I can say is that if my seven year old hated this film which is right there at his age range then judge for yourself, but remember, your kid might get the wrong message about misbehaving, especially after seeing how easily Max got off at the end. So, to my Dexter, sweetie, keep on reading the book ‘cause the movie might destroy your fond childhood memories.
Review
By Priscilla
priscilla@smartcine.com
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People Movie Where
The Wild Things Are
| ltshep |
100 |
Okay This is an... alright movie. There
are some really funny parts. Such as
when KW takes max to see her friends
(can't recall what she called them) and
knocked two owls out of the sky. She
held them close I guess you could call
it "lovingly" and she’s like
"They love it when I do this to
them." and the owls squawk
pathetically. But then there are some
really weird and creepy stuff. Like how
Carol is a, oh how do i put this
gently... a complete sociopath!!!
People get injured, Max seems like he
needs professional help, and someones
arm gets ripped off for crying out
loud!!! Iwould not recomend it for the
family!
|
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