Film Sweat: “But Honey, I’m A Wild Animal”
RECOMMENDED: The money behind Fantastic Mr. Fox could have employed any halfwit director and scored a commercial hit because of subject matter and holiday release. But instead of going for the softball, the studio took a chance on a guy who makes his living in a niche market with oddball humor. Not exactly a recipe for success. I seem to remember an early marriage between Batman Begins and Darren Aronovsky (Pi, Requiem For A Dream) that reeked of a potentially drug-addled Bruce Wayne and a cross-dressing Commissioner Gordon. Thankfully, that relationship ended before consummation.
About halfway through the screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox, I came to the realization that Wes Anderson should remake all of Roald Dahl’s children’s fiction as animations. Anderson always treads on the thin line between pretention and wit, but his style and obvious admiration for the author put him in a position to make something real. Ironically, this is his only non-live action flick to date. Dahl’s work provides the architecture for the house that Anderson decorates with his trademark idiosyncratic relationships. Whereas we usually laugh at the absurdity of his real-life characters in a realized world, here he manages to make us chuckle at the anthropomorphism of his adorable little animal claymates. Physical humor is where animated features have an advantage over the rest, but this film’s best scenes are human exchanges between wild animals.
For Mr. Fox, Anderson decided less was more. It’s never a case of “you’re an idiot if you don’t get the joke” from which some of his work suffers. He wants you to like these characters. You won’t find belly laughs or guffaws (unless you like a good Jarvis Cocker gag, which of course, we do), but the subtlety of the writing provides more than enough winks and nudges that never come off as groan-inducing. The trademark uncomfortable relationships that pepper Anderson’s body of work are in full force here, and big shock, Jason Schwartzman plays the most uncomfortable of all. The marriage between Mr. And Mrs. Fox is quite touching and a little too close to real people that we all know. The Mrs.’ soft but firm admission, “I love you, but really shouldn’t have married you,” was direct and painful, and absolutely perfect.
The performances are top notch, most notably by the aforementioned Schwartzman as Ash Fox, and George Clooney as the title character. Clooney channels his role from O Brother Where Art Thou: Always scheming, confident, and tragically flawed with a lack of humility and the responsibility of being a father and husband. You can see Clooney’s time spent doing Coen Bros. flicks has shaped his performance as Mr. Fox. Meryl Streep does an excellent job as the little Mrs., and Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Owen Wilson make appearances. Willem Dafoe continues his typecasting as the bad guy here, playing a rat that protects a cache of alcoholic cider.
If you have kids, they might not be entertained for the full hour and a half, and some of the sequences are a bit scary for the younguns. But the flick is superb, and I feel that any kind of rut Anderson might have been suffering through is over. It’s truly inspired work. While a film like The Royal Tennenbaums was perfect on its own, having a star-studded lineup definitely got asses in seats. By taking the attention away from the actors behind the animation, you really get to see Anderson’s ability to tell a story. It’s something special.
– Collin Flatt
ALSO NEW IN THEATERS:
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, which is like, ohh man, Werner Herzog is so awesomely batshit crazy that you kinda have to just let him make his Bad Lieutenant remake (he claims to not know anything about the first one) with Nicolas Cage as a pillhead and just sit back and enjoy the ride; Ninja Assassin, which is about a ninja assassin; Old Dogs, starring Robin Williams and John Travolta as the only people in the world you want to kill more than Robin Williams and John Travolta; and Red Cliff, a pretty cool looking battle epic that takes place in ancient China.
For more recommendations on films currently in theaters, visit Philebrity’s Film Sweat archive. And click here for movie times.
