Review of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) by Paul R — 08 Apr 2013

I've always liked how Wes Anderson's films have one foot out of reality allowing the viewer to escape into the wonderful worlds he creates. It's been a hell of a long time since I last saw this and and the fond memories soon came flooding back. Here Anderson has not only one foot out of reality, but both, and flung himself into a highly stylised world of wonderful creatures and characters that allow the viewer to remove themselves completely from every day life and soak up this beautifully crafted tale of love, death, betrayal & forgiveness, but all the while with a lot of heart.

With a huge cast of greats all pulling lovely quirky performances out of the bag this film is joyful to watch. It keeps surprising the viewer with big action sequences punctuated with many moments of comedy, drama, suspense and adventure. The soundtrack is also delightful especially the Portuguese solo renditions of a number of David Bowie greats.

Wes Anderson has put a lot of effort into this film, from its elaborate set design, particular mention to the full size cross section of the boat, through to the strong themes running throughout. This film is a delight to watch and I will definitely not leave it this long again to relive its tidal wave of charm.