Then I remembered just how much I love Wes Anderson's films. And I thought, hey! His movies are pretty creative...maybe he is too.
I have loved Wes Anderson's movies for as long as I could remember. At first, I only watched his movies because my older brother forced me to, but I always fell in love with the characters and overall quirkiness of his films. The first movie I saw that was directed by him was Rushmore (which I was probably way too young to see at the time), and I have been a Wes Anderson follower ever since.
Wes Anderson is known for "quirky, comical movies with flawed characters" (as is stated in his biography found here). Although he studied philosophy at the University of Texas, his friendship with Owen Wilson after sharing a class together and discovering common interests allowed Wes to pursue a career in filmmaking. As Wes says, they "started talking about writers, but we also talked about movies right off the bat. I knew I wanted to do something with movies. I don't know if he had realized yet that it was an option." Since their days in college, Wes and Owen have collaborated (with Owen as either a writer or actor) on almost every one of Wes' films.
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| Wes and a selection of his films |
Wes Anderson is known for "quirky, comical movies with flawed characters" (as is stated in his biography found here). Although he studied philosophy at the University of Texas, his friendship with Owen Wilson after sharing a class together and discovering common interests allowed Wes to pursue a career in filmmaking. As Wes says, they "started talking about writers, but we also talked about movies right off the bat. I knew I wanted to do something with movies. I don't know if he had realized yet that it was an option." Since their days in college, Wes and Owen have collaborated (with Owen as either a writer or actor) on almost every one of Wes' films.
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| Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson - obviously on a day off from filmmaking
What makes Wes Anderson so creative is that his films are different from most other films I have seen. His ability to connect that quirkiness and his characters' flaws into a unique story is unlike ordinary Hollywood films. Take The Royal Tenenbaums, for example (his third film). This film has an all-star cast who play quirky and unique characters in the Tenenbaum family. Wes Anderson's ability to speak to the development of the family through these characters speaks to his creativity. For anyone who has seen this movie or others, I'm sure you can agree that his creativity shines through this and all his movies.
Wes Anderson's films are a product of collaboration and creativity that are incredibly entertaining. If you have the chance, I suggest watching any of his full-length films, which include Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and his soon-to-be-released Moonrise Kingdom. Take note of the thorough development of characters and his creative instincts that are evident throughout his movies. And maybe you'll be able to connect with some of the quirky characters present in his movies.
Just for fun...an American Express commercial featuring Wes himself.
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I think describing Wes Anderson’s films as having an element of “quirkiness” is a total understatement. Don’t get me wrong; I’m kind of obsessed with his style and the majority of his films, especially The Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox, but what impresses me most is that his “quirkiness” doesn’t overshadow his characters or themes. Some of the dialogue and situations are so absurd that I almost give up on the film. However, just as I start to get annoyed at how eccentric or pretentious the movie is getting, I get sucked in and become obsessed. Somehow the quirkiness factor doesn’t prevent him from creating rounded and relatable characters that are just plain entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI think the defining characteristic of his creativity is the fact that his films are stylized in such a specific way that it’s impossible to confuse his works with any other director. For example, even though Fantastic Mr. Fox is an animated movie, I can still immediately tell that it is Wes Anderson production. In my opinion there are very few contemporary directors that can accomplish the same feat (perhaps only Tarantino, Scorsese, and Finch).