Movie Review: Where the Wild Things Are
Friday December 4, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are is perhaps one of the most highly anticipated films of 2009 due to the much-loved children's book it is based upon, written by Maurice Sendak. The story tells of Max, a young boy who feels misunderstood by his family and expresses himself through fits of anger or rage, while also displaying an incredible imagination as he deals with the breakdown of his family.
After one particular nasty fight with his mother, Max takes off to escape to an imaginary island where he meets the Wild Things. Savage in appearance but somewhat immature and humourous, the Wild Things change from wanting to eat Max and make him their king after he boasts of his incredible, and fictitious, powers. As the film progresses Max develops with the Wild Things as he is forced to not only be king, but to enforce a harmonic existence with these volatile creatures.
Much has been said about the wonder of Spike Jonze successfully transforming a 48-page, ten sentence book into a 90 minute feature film that uses some of the very best visual techniques applied to a film in some time. To put it simply, the monsters are stunning in their animation and their lifelike representation. Perhaps this is because it combines actual costumes and computer graphics for their expressions, but the monsters are truly amazing along with the surrounding forest and their constructed fort.
That being said, while many people will adore this movie as it represents a time in their childhood, I must confess I have never read the book and barely knew a thing about story or the characters before going to see this film. This may have worked against me as I'm still not entirely sure what was going on.
For starters, the film is based on a children's book written for children, yet the film was clearly too dark and, dare I say, boring for young children. However, there was nowhere near enough depth to the story or explanation for adults to be mentally stimulating either. Much of the story is spent looking for meaning in words and actions that, as it turns out, was just not there.
This is a story about an emotionally confused kid that is dealing with his changing family home life who escapes from his troubles by creating a fantasy land, only to have these very same issues arise. Yet they are not truly dealt with, and while Max may have matured from the repugnant screaming child his is in the first twenty minutes, the conclusion of him returning to the ';real' world last briefly, with no guarantee that Max has truly learnt anything.
While the issues addressed are significant, the movie seems to sit somewhere in an emotional no-man's-land with issues too deep for children but far too abstract and unexplained for an adult audience. While it becomes evident that the monsters are representing aspects of Max's personality, there is no real development or sign of real growth from the flaws in the character/s. If anything, the repeated illogical ranting and yelling of first Max and then the aggressive monster Carol tends to grate on the nerves as if continually occurs.
However, there were some truly beautiful elements of the story and its characters. The monster KW, Alexander and the monster who doesn't speak until the very end are all charming in their vulnerabilities, highlighting the sweet nature and confusion that can overwhelm a developing child. They are used to counteract the aggression and abruptness of some characters effectively, yet there was something missing from the entire film.
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