Where the Wild Things Are

Let the wild rumpus start!

Went last night to see this film in slightly odd circumstances- it was a coworker's birthday and she basically filled the theater with her (mostly drunk) friends. So perhaps not the best viewing environment for what is a fairly sensitive and emotionally complex film.

The book was a childhood favorite of mine (and most people, I'd imagine) and I've been excited about the film version. It is a tall order to translate a popular, short, children's book that has more pictures than words (seriously- there are only a few sentences in the book) into a 2hr (or so) feature film. Spike Jonze is certainly a good choice for the job as he has always been a very visual director and, if done correctly, this movie needed to place a lot of weight on the visuals.

And it did. The landscapes are beautiful, alternating between super bright bleak deserts and dark and twisted forests, vastly elegant seashores and shadowed caves. The landscape is a character in this film- often reflecting the moods of the characters (mostly Max). The Wild Things themselves are very cool looking- I think mostly "real" (non CG) with a little CG help at times? I just looked at some images from the book, and I can attest that the recreations of the Wild Things in the movie are pretty accurate.

It is a challenge to stick a pile of emotion on the face of a muppet, but the filmmakers did a good job of demonstrating the seething emotional sea of childhood. Because really, the Wild Things are reflections of parts of Max, and therefore reflections of childhood. They are made larger than life by Max's imaginings, each hyperbolic representations of a facet of Max's psyche or part of Max's life. And that's what the story is- Max coming to grips with himself and with the fact that he can't make everything perfect, that for all the rumpuses and moments of beauty, there will be fights and moments of darkness, fear, and confusion.

The film was beautifully realized and true to Sendak's original vision. It is slow, but in a contemplative way, not a boring one. A solid performance from the young boy who plays Max, along with beautiful visuals make the movie a success. Recommend to all.