Wes Anderson

For the assignment this week, I chose to analyze three films by Wes Anderson: The Darjeeling Limited,  Bottle Rocket  and Moonrise Kingdom.  I watched Moonrise Kingdom over this past winter break and fell in love with the film. It's a quirky "first love" love story between a young boy at summer camp and girl. If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend giving it a shot, its an excellent movie!

When comparing these three films together, the first most notable similarity that struck me was Anderson's use of specific actors. Owen Wilson and Bill Murray have played a part in two out of the three films I watched (and Bill Murray has played a role in every one of Wes Anderson's movie but Bottle Rocket.) These actors lend themselves perfectly to Anderson's film style that is a blend of quirky comedy and romantic drama.

Visually, these three films I watched all shared in a similar faded/warm color palette. Everything has a soft dated feel to it, and the acting feels very realistic (despite how unrealistic the plot line may be getting). Anderson also uses a lot of contrast in his camera work. A beauty shot can instantly cut to a wide shot. We could stay with one camera for a very long time, and then suddenly cut to several cameras in a row. In Bottle Rocket, there is a scene where one of the Owen brothers is on the phone, and as the phone rings, we cut several times to all different places in the motel where the phone is ringing.  He also uses a lot of quick camera pans to get from one part of the story to the next, and I also noticed that he likes to do extreme closeups of still objects (and many of these are top down angles.)

Here is an awesome compilation video that shows several examples of his iconic top down shots:


Wes Anderson // From Above from kogonada on Vimeo.


The majority of his staging is very flat and centered which lends to an exaggerated stiffness, and that we are up close and personal with the actors. During my concept class we were always taught to keep wary of the rule of thirds, and crossing the 180. Wes Anderson bends and breaks these rules throughout most of the films I watched! A lot of dialogue scenes are center stage, with the actors barely looking into the audience's eyes.

I feel that Wes Anderson's films have a very personal point of view. The subject matter of all the films I watched are focused on broken families and relationships and the struggles of getting through life together. I personally feel that his films are conveying a message that while life is a strange and bizarre struggle we are still able to find the comedy and romance in it.

Another point of view Anderson might be suggesting through his films is the importance of nostalgia. A lot of his films have this home video, 60s vibe (and the music definitely accentuates this.) Sometimes I feel like I'm looking through a time capsule into another person's life and watching their story

Whatever his true view point may be, I really enjoy Wes Anderson's films and I am excited for when The Grand Budapest Hotel is released.