Wes Anderson's Auteurship

For this week’s assignment, I chose to watch three movies by the director, Wes Anderson. Having seen his film Moonrise Kingdom recently, I was quite intrigued by his distinct style of auteurship. All of his movies are extremely aesthetically pleasing, from the sets to the costume designs, which is part of the reason that they’re so fun to watch. He has a keen eye for complimentary colors, and using them to emphasize the parts of the scenes that are important. For example, in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the main characters trademark look is that of a bright orange hat. This seems like a simple costume choice, however he carefully plans all of the backgrounds to be colorful blues and teals, making Zissou even more noticeable and the shot appealing to the eye.

            Another aspect of Anderson’s films that I picked up on that makes them so unique is the storybook feel to his movies. For example, in the beginning of Moonrise Kingdom, the camera pans through the Bishop household, almost as if we are looking at it like we would a doll house. He takes this even farther as the camera then zooms out, showing the rest of the house and making it look very small, as the title sequence plays. Anderson also likes to use camera shots that are very centered, and symmetrical. When he does this, it feels as through I’m opening a children’s book, and I’m filled with child-like wonder. 

            One of my favorite films he’s done has been Fantastic Mr. Fox. As a stop-motion film it’s absolutely incredible, because all of the characters are so unique, and flawed in their own way. Again, in his style, the color palette was very appealing, with lots of orange hues, giving it a very rustic feel, enhancing the story. When you think of today’s animation you think of something smooth, and moves easily, but Anderson took a different route, making the characters a little rough in their movements. In this film, he also panned out, for example when the rodents were digging deeper, to make it look like a doll-house, or we were reading a picture book.

            When you go to the movies to see a Wes Anderson film, you can almost always expect to see some of the same actors, such as Bill Murray or Owen Wilson. I enjoy both actors, and it’s always a good time to see how they handle all of Anderson’s different characters, because they’re usually so strikingly different from one movie to the next.

            Overall I enjoy watching Wes Anderson’s films, and I really appreciate how much care he puts into every aspect of his projects, and look forward to seeing more in the future.