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Reviews - Where the Wild Things Are & Coco Before Chanel
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Once upon a time, there was a beloved children’s tale turned into a movie that frightened children. Its protagonist was lost in a strange land, where even the friendly, bizarre creatures our hero met left one uneasy at times. Even limbs were ripped from the socket of a companion. Over time though, our lead grew to love, and be loved, by the odd strangers, before finally heading back home.
70 years later people still adore Wizard of Oz. Parents forget how weirded out they were at first, with flying monkeys kidnapping people and a villain that literally melts to death. People overlook the appeal of apprehension. Children have long succumbed to the magic of a creepy fairy-tale. The Princess Bride is a perennial favorite and just earlier this year the spooky Coraline grossed nearly $100 million. So when you hear adults talking about how Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s beloved book Where the Wild Things Are was made solely for the grownups and is too much for the little ones, remind them about Dorothy and the gang.
Also, tell them to go see this marvelous movie, a celebration of boyish id unleashed. With additional screenplay help by Dave Eggers, Jonze keeps the heart of Sendak’s work alive, expanding the ideas of loneliness, youthful imagination and rowdiness to feature length. All of that classic story is there, with an opening that will take your breath away in its simplicity. Max (Max Records) is playing in his new fort, plotting a snowball attack on his older sister and her friends. Projectiles are hurled and laughs abound until the big kids play too hard, crushing Max under his makeshift igloo. His sister looks back, seeing Max in tears, and runs off. A tantrum ensues before he is finally settled down by mom (Catherine Keener - who is out-of-this-world good in only a few minutes of work). Their bond is a beautiful one. When mom is stressed, Max does an improved dance to make her smile. Unfortunately, that connection can make Max envious, and when she has a new boyfriend over, the tike goes, well, wild. He screams, “Feed me woman!” before sprinting out the front door in his unique pajama monster outfit. Max keeps going until he hits the water, where he takes off on a boat and eventually meets a group of hairy, horned behemoths, who are twice his size and can knock down gargantuan trees with ease. Max has found a new home.
We all know what happens from there. Max becomes king, wild rumpus-ing takes place and concerns over becoming dinner emerge. However, unlike Sendak’s silent creatures, Jonze’s gang are a chatty bunch. An emotional group too, made up of amalgams of Max’s own psyche and family. Scared of being left for others, Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) is Max’s closest new friend. They comfort each other as they construct gargantuan bird-nest-like homes of sticks and mud. The raw mindsets of the Wild Things are a treasure to see, as they bicker and play. The movie skips from celebratory to melancholy without missing a beat.
Records is delightful as Max, conveying the slightest of concerns in a glance, while also being able to go haywire, chasing a dog with a fork. This is tough work for any child-actor, let alone one in his first movie role (he filmed The Brothers Bloom afterwards). Records is as genuine as the rest of Wild Things. Jonze has no time for pandering to crowds for easy sympathy, instead earning our floods of tears over time, concocting connections that are a joy to get lost in. He is aided by a talented crew. K.K. Barrett’s production design evokes the original book’s imagery without merely mimicking, adding his own layer of earthiness. Lance Acord’s cinematography is intimate and unreal. The piece that will likely annoy some will be the Carter Burwell and Karen O. score, which sounds like The Kinks teaming up with Vince Guaraldi, with guitars strumming and kids chanting. It is bold, in-your-face stuff and works wonders, though might turn off many.
Where the Wild Things Are opens wide all across Seattle today.
Coco Before Chanel is very much your standard biopic. We meet the revolutionary designer before she makes it big. Dancing in a small bar, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel (Audrey Tautou) happily sings for money with her best friend, though she isn’t interested in making acquaintances with all of the grabby patrons. There is one though that peaks Coco’s interest, a wealthy man named Etienne Balsan (Benoit Poelvoorde) who is able to bite back with the same vinegar-y attitude. They bond in a way that is partially romantic, partially platonic. This element of the movie is spectacular, the sole standout in an otherwise forgettable picture.
Coco’s evolution as a designer is touched upon, as she rips apart horribly overdone outfits into something far simpler and chic. These elements, that display a true artist/innovator, are standard pieces for biopics and, as usual, are presented with no particular style or grace, instead like a unnecessary border confining a possibly adventurous puzzle. In adapting Edmonde Charles-Roux’s biography, director Anne Fontaine (The Girl from Monaco) and fellow screenwriter Camille Fontaine sap a vibrant, vocal woman of her energy. That is except for the aforementioned moments between Coco and Balsan.
Tautou and Poelvoorde are a captivating pair, bickering in an honest way. Their relationship transforms throughout Fontaine’s movie, evolving from mere pokes and prods to something far more complicated, loving and uneasy. Tautou bares a strong presence, despite her miniscule frame. She is blunt with her feelings, goading confrontation and pouring out joy. Poelvoorde is equally strong, turning in subtle stuff. His Balsan is mean-spirited but not hateful, prone to letting jealousy consume him. As Coco and Balsan drift apart, what appeared to be a barren connection is revealed to be deeper than originally thought. The finale of their friendship ought to be the film’s too. Unfortunately, the movie ticks on for several scenes in usual biopic ways, ending with perhaps a more accurate ending, but a far less engaging one.
Coco Before Chanel opens exclusively at Landmark’s Harvard Exit Theatre today.
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