Of all the movies in acclaimed cult filmmaker Wes Anderson's career, few have proven to be as low regarded as The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Released in 2004 to mixed reviews and poor financial returns, the film has since garnered a strong cult following and is often seen as one of Anderson's more overlooked and underrated endeavors. Made as a parody and tribute to French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, there is just enough to appreciate in the film for Anderson enthusiasts and newcomers alike, even if it might not give you exactly what you're looking for from first glance.
The main story focuses on an eccentric oceanographer named Steve Zissou who sets out to go after the "jaguar shark" that ate his partner. Despite this sounding like a simple enough premise, The Life Aquatic juggles a lot of different characters and plot points at nauseum, such as Zissou struggling to keep his showstring expedition crew on board and facing the reality of his illegitimate son Ned Plympton coming into the journey. Compared to Anderson's earlier works which are more grounded character narratives with oddball humor, this film goes for a much wackier approach in its story with numerous side characters and obstacles coming into the picture. As a result, there is a bit too much going on to allow for a proper balance between the realistic scenarios and borderline cartoony hijinks ensuing throughout Zissou's misadventurous expedition. Much of Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach's trademark witty deadpan dialogue comes into play well enough, which is to say that it may or may not make up for the admittedly disjointed narrative depending on the viewers.
Fortunately, in spite of all the different plot points, the cast and crew make the most out of the runtime. In addition to Bill Murray lending his classic deadpan facade smoothly to Steve Zissou, Owen Wilson adds a lot of charming suaveness to Ned which allows us to feel some sympathy towards the guy in lieu of Steve's cold and often unpleasant personality. Alongside the cast are Cate Blanchett as the pregnant reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson who grows more sardonic at Zissou while chronicling the voyage, Willem Dafoe as first mate Klaus Deimler who views Steve as a father figure, and even Jeff Goldblum makes for a chuckle worthy sibling rival in these unorthodox voyages. Admittedly, Anjelica Huston's finest performance cannot save Steve's wife Eleanor from being more interesting as his chief strategist than as a character, but her scenes don't bog the film down too much so we can look forward to the crazier sequences. This might be the point where Anderson's eccentric characters were coming to form in wackier worlds, and they mostly work well in some flying colors.
Perhaps what people tend to remember this movie for the most are the charming set pieces and visual effects, and rightfully so. As this film pays tribute to the unknown sea life discovered by Jacques Cousteau, the variously sporadic fictional lifeforms range from rhinestone bluefin, crayon ponyfish, electric jellyfish, and sugar crabs. Most of these creatures were created with stop motion animation done by the legendary Henry Selick, and his otherworldly imagination springs to life so much through all of the fascinating design work. While some effects look appropriately cheesy when combining the real actors with these elaborate backdrops, they still feel like they belong in the same world, matching the gorgeous Italian Riviera setting shown all across the feature. Next to Mark Mothersbaugh's lucidly melodious score, anyone in for the tunes will walk away humming to at least one of Pelé dos Santos's Portuguese covers of iconic David Bowie songs. Even if one could argue that Anderson is often style over substance, this film is proof that sometimes the style can be the substance.
So while The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou might be a little too jumbled in its story for everyone's taste, the overt visual charm and whimsically eccentric characters make this film much more decent than once thought beforehand. In a day and age where Wes Anderson has become one of the most niche filmmakers to get into, earlier works of his like this are fascinating to witness as a time capsule to when he started off kicking it in the mainstream. It might be too quirky for some and not quirky enough for others, and that's just part of the fun that makes this colorfully imaginative dive worth exploring.
The main story focuses on an eccentric oceanographer named Steve Zissou who sets out to go after the "jaguar shark" that ate his partner. Despite this sounding like a simple enough premise, The Life Aquatic juggles a lot of different characters and plot points at nauseum, such as Zissou struggling to keep his showstring expedition crew on board and facing the reality of his illegitimate son Ned Plympton coming into the journey. Compared to Anderson's earlier works which are more grounded character narratives with oddball humor, this film goes for a much wackier approach in its story with numerous side characters and obstacles coming into the picture. As a result, there is a bit too much going on to allow for a proper balance between the realistic scenarios and borderline cartoony hijinks ensuing throughout Zissou's misadventurous expedition. Much of Anderson and co-writer Noah Baumbach's trademark witty deadpan dialogue comes into play well enough, which is to say that it may or may not make up for the admittedly disjointed narrative depending on the viewers.
Fortunately, in spite of all the different plot points, the cast and crew make the most out of the runtime. In addition to Bill Murray lending his classic deadpan facade smoothly to Steve Zissou, Owen Wilson adds a lot of charming suaveness to Ned which allows us to feel some sympathy towards the guy in lieu of Steve's cold and often unpleasant personality. Alongside the cast are Cate Blanchett as the pregnant reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson who grows more sardonic at Zissou while chronicling the voyage, Willem Dafoe as first mate Klaus Deimler who views Steve as a father figure, and even Jeff Goldblum makes for a chuckle worthy sibling rival in these unorthodox voyages. Admittedly, Anjelica Huston's finest performance cannot save Steve's wife Eleanor from being more interesting as his chief strategist than as a character, but her scenes don't bog the film down too much so we can look forward to the crazier sequences. This might be the point where Anderson's eccentric characters were coming to form in wackier worlds, and they mostly work well in some flying colors.
Perhaps what people tend to remember this movie for the most are the charming set pieces and visual effects, and rightfully so. As this film pays tribute to the unknown sea life discovered by Jacques Cousteau, the variously sporadic fictional lifeforms range from rhinestone bluefin, crayon ponyfish, electric jellyfish, and sugar crabs. Most of these creatures were created with stop motion animation done by the legendary Henry Selick, and his otherworldly imagination springs to life so much through all of the fascinating design work. While some effects look appropriately cheesy when combining the real actors with these elaborate backdrops, they still feel like they belong in the same world, matching the gorgeous Italian Riviera setting shown all across the feature. Next to Mark Mothersbaugh's lucidly melodious score, anyone in for the tunes will walk away humming to at least one of Pelé dos Santos's Portuguese covers of iconic David Bowie songs. Even if one could argue that Anderson is often style over substance, this film is proof that sometimes the style can be the substance.
So while The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou might be a little too jumbled in its story for everyone's taste, the overt visual charm and whimsically eccentric characters make this film much more decent than once thought beforehand. In a day and age where Wes Anderson has become one of the most niche filmmakers to get into, earlier works of his like this are fascinating to witness as a time capsule to when he started off kicking it in the mainstream. It might be too quirky for some and not quirky enough for others, and that's just part of the fun that makes this colorfully imaginative dive worth exploring.