For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to write the newsletter about the films of Wes Anderson, and in part this is why I haven’t written a newsletter the last several weeks. I enjoyed running through all of his films, even the ones I don’t like as much. Some of my favorite films have been made by Anderson but for whatever reason I just haven’t been able to find the right words. So instead of beating my head against this and never getting another newsletter out*, I’m just going to rip off my twitter thread.
So why do I like the films of Wes Anderson so much? In short, his films are about messy people occupying neat spaces**. As a messy person (albeit one who is often in messy spaces) I can relate to this, and it certainly speaks to me. Anderson has a reputation with some people as being detached and devoid of emotion, but I disagree strongly. In movie after movie the characters strive for connection, often through intense sadness, and sometimes through joy.
Like almost every filmmaker, his films aren’t without their problems. They aren’t the best about issues of class, and can be even more tone deaf when it comes to race. For example, Isle of Dogs centers the rebellion of some children in a Japanese city against their despotic mayor around a white exchange student. It’s a choice that distracts from the story, which already is one of Anderson’s weakest.
Still, despite those weaknesses, there are so many more strengths. Anderson has come up with so many iconic characters. Whether its Max Fischer, Steve Zissou, Sam Shakusky, Monsieur Gustave H., or my two personal favorites Margot Tenenbaum and Suzy Bishop, he is good at creating messy characters and having them try to connect to each other.
And of course there are the music cues. Anderson is known for his impeccable music cues, and this is a reputation he deserves. There’s a whole bunch I could choose from to show, but I’ll go with the best, from The Royal Tenenbaums:
Beyond the impeccable cues is the wide variety of music. From The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys and “Christmastime is Here”, to fellow EIU alum Burl Ives, David Bowie sung in Portuguese and original music by Alexandre Desplat, there’s a lot of different things to be found. The soundtracks for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox are two of my favorite soundtracks that I own.***
If you have never watched his films, or have only watched a few, I highly recommend checking them out. I would suggest Rushmore or maybe Fantastic Mr. Fox if you are looking for a starting point. There’s a lot to enjoy, and unlike some of the series on this list, there aren’t a huge amount of films to go through.
The Rankings****
9. Isle of Dogs
8. Hotel Chevalier/The Darjeeling Limited*****
7. Rushmore
6. Bottle Rocket
5. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. The Grand Budapest Hotel
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2. Moonrise Kingdom
1. The Royal Tenenbaums
* Amy March has been waiting for her newsletter incredibly patiently, but she’s getting restless
** Credit is due to my sister Erin, who shared this in this reply to my twitter thread.
*** I do not own the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums, which even with the songs that are usually missing from soundtracks is still an excellent track list. It’s a very hard item to get your hands on legally without paying a fortune for these days.
**** These rankings are a little different than my Twitter list, and represent an accurate version as I see it right now.
***** Hotel Chevalier is a short film that is technically separate from The Darjeeling Limited, although it was played before the full length film in the theater and can be played that way on the Blu-Ray of the film.