Wes Anderson's “Moonrise Kingdom”
has been getting the best reviews of his career – it also won the
prestigious Gotham award for indie features this month.
So, even though I'm not a big fan of
his work, I felt obliged to see his latest film. It has a wonderful
cast – Bruce Willis, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray (again), but
it's the same old quirky storytelling.
Now, there are other quirky directors
who make great films – David Lynch and Terry Gilliam come to mind,
and I love their stuff. But what bugs me is that quirkiness is all
that Mr. Anderson can offer. I never laughed during “Moonrise
Kingdom”. I was never amazed, scared or involved emotionally. And
that's the problem, it's all surface.
It's as if a child made the film. It
looks like amateur filmmaking. It was the same for “Fantastic Mr.
Fox” - the snake was made of cotton balls and all of the movements
were crude and primitive, and because of the raw look of the film,
you didn't notice there was no story, no emotion and no humor.
He's like a naïve artist. Maybe
people like him because he seems so innocent.
I remember when I was making print
cartoons, and around the mid-1980's, there was an insurgence of
cartoon strips that were drawn very badly, and they got a lot of
publicity and popularity because they were hip and different.
Now, I love to draw and I take pride
in my drawing style. I also believe that good characters and good
jokes are important to a successful comic strip. So, I was mystified
as to the popularity of that new wave of badly drawn, unfunny comics.
That's the same feeling I have for Wes
Anderson. Perhaps it's jealousy that drives my distaste for his
films. Why is he so rich and famous while I'm still struggling to
make my films and get distribution?
It's nothing personal against Mr.
Anderson – I liked “Bottle Rocket”, his first film. But I just
believe it's a case of “The Emperor's New Clothes” - why don't
people see there's no talent there?
I give “Moonrise Kingdom” a D.
