Spike Jonze has a solid career as director of artistic films. In
Being John Malkovich (1999), a portal allows its visitors to live Malkovich's life for a few minutes... inside his head. And in
Adaptation. (2002), a writer turns to his less talented twin brother for help writing a novel.
Adapted from the novel published by Maurice Sendak in 1963, Where the Wild Things Are (USA/Australia, 2009) is Jonze's new work: even though this one is a family movie (in a way), it is still as artistic as his previous works.
(Note: the spoilers are marked in red. Be careful not to read them before you watch the movie!)
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Max (wonderfully played by Max Records) is a creative young boy who lives with his teenage sister and his divorced mother. He lives imaginary adventures, creates whole new worlds... but has no one to play with. So he's not like every child you see in movies: Max is very lonely and sad.
One day, he puts on his wolf costume and starts running and yelling around the house. After a heartbreaking fight with his mother (Catherine Keener), he's sent to his room without supper, but runs away from home. He finds a boat, climbs aboard and sails away.
After a few days travelling through the sea, he reaches an island enhabited by furry wild creatures that seem scary and aggressive. At first, they want to eat him up for invading their island, but Max introduces himself as a powerful king who can defend them from any danger. They believe him, and Max is crowned as their king.
Each wild thing has its personality: Ira (voice by Forest Whitaker) is the mature one, married to depressive Judith (Catherine O'Hara). Douglas (Chris Cooper) is the bully, and Alexander (Paul Dano) is careful and calm.
But Carol is the one with which Max most identifies. Played by James Gandolfini, he's wild, playful and reckless. And just like Max, he's very lonely: Carol misses KW (Lauren Ambrose), who's left their group after fighting with him - and who'll become a mother figure to Max.
At first, everything is wonderful: they're very close, happy and playful. But - as in every kingdom - some will think Max isn't a good king, and that his decisions are neglecting some of the wild things. Max loses all of his friends slowly, showing how lonely is power.
He causes caos and mess on the island, mostly because of the wild things' fear and jealousy. I'm not telling how things evolve from that point, but be sure it'll be a good look on how power affects relationships.
Where the Wild Things Are is simply beautiful. The whole story is (in my opinion) a way to show us his internal conflict and sorrow. Actually, if you give it some thought, Max never leaves the house: the whole island is actually his bedroom.
And we can go further on the analysis. Each wild thing is a part of his personality, and the conflict that erupts in the island is a way to show Max's loneliness, the internal conflict between each part of his personality.
Although the screenplay is based on Sendak's novel, it's actually very original. The book has about 30 pages - it's basically built on drawings and really short phrases, one per page. All the smaller stories and reflections are from Jonze & David Eggers' screenplay.
It's very well done, touching and thought-provoking. The first 20 minutes and the beach scene where Max leaves the island were just marvellous. (Laugh at me if you want to, but I'm not ashamed to say I was touched enough by the movie to cry.)
The cast works really well, and the visual effects are great. The actors wore big hairy costumes (they must have suffered with all the heat!) while filming, and the facial expression was made with CGI. The costume design was amazing.
Too bad it was completely snubbed by the Oscars. Not even a single nomination. I thought it should have some recognition. Not only the technical part is great, but it's easily one of the best 10 films of the year. And the box-office wasn't great either: US$ 89 million worldwide, at a US$ 100 million cost + publicity... :'(
Out of the Oscar 2010 Best Picture list of nominees, I have only watched Avatar, Up in the Air and Up so far (the three of them are excellent, by the way). But I doubt all the 7 others can top this one. But I won't be judgemental, 'cause I haven't watched them yet.
But I'll still recommend it: it's a wonderful film if you want a good drama. One of the best films of the year: my vote is 8. Just don't take the kids, because the adults will understand/enjoy it a lot more.
>> ZÉ B. [8/10]
>> iRaphael [8/10]
IMDB link: HERE
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