Combining children's literature with a bleak, moody indie film doesn't sound like a combination that would work.
But it does in Where the Wild Things Are, director Spike Jonze's risky, strange and compelling film adaptation of the classic children's book written and drawn by Maurice Sendak.
Wild Things isn't a film that is easy to grasp at first. Unlike other children's book adaptations, it isn't necessarily a film for kids. Rather, it's a film about childhood -- the sad and painful experiences that we have growing up. Jonze didn't have to make a film like this, but his risk paid off with a bold, brave and haunting tale about what it is to be a kid.
The film follows Max (Max Records) a misunderstood and adventurous little boy craving attention from his older sister and his sweet but work-frazzled mom (Catherine Keener). After a fight with his mother results in her telling Max he's out of control, he runs away, finds a boat and sails off to a strange land. There, he encounters a group of large furry "Wild Things" who decide not to eat Max and instead make him their king. Max forms a friendship with Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini), but learns that being king and holding a group together is not easy.
Every element of the movie is a risk, but each part complements the others seamlessly. The bleak earth-tones of the cinematography are breathtaking; The child-like soundtrack and score provided by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O is playful and sweet. Even the voiceover for Carol is a welcome surprise, with Gandolfini playing him much like Tony Soprano -- a bit menacing and volatile, but with a warmth and softness.
The Wild Things themselves are also a fabulous departure that paid off. Instead of completely animating them, the monsters are all suits worn by actors, with only the facial movements digitally created. This adds a realness to their texture and movements that wouldn't have been achieved with total animation. Each Wild Thing also has a likeable, individual personality.
But perhaps the best element of the film is Max himself. Records is a wonderful young actor, and his best scenes occur before he even reaches the land of the Wild Things. Without even speaking, Records conveys the sadness and jubilation of childhood with ease. In the hands of another actor, Max easily could have come off as a brat, but viewers instead easily feel his pain and can remember their own childhood in every animal howl he delivers. Records is the heart and soul of the film.
Wild Things does contain some scenes, however, that go a bit beyond the oddness of the rest of the movie. A scene involving a pair of hooting owls will leave you scratching your head wondering if the writers were under the influence of something. Another scene , in which Max is swallowed by a Wild Thing and has a conversation with her from inside her body is equally bizarre.
Despite these issues, Where the Wild Things Are is one of the best films you'll see in theaters this year. Many people won't get this movie -- children will probably be scared and the relationships between the monsters will go right over their heads, while parents looking for might be angered by the gloomy and depressing vision they'll find. The film takes Sendak's story and adds an adult element to it.
This is a film whose target audience should have been the college-aged set -- those theoretically too young to have kids, but young enough to remember what it was like..
Grade: A
