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THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU Send This Review to a Friend
There are two advantages to “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” the quirky new Moby shtick film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written by him and Noah Baumbach. One is the always amusing Bill Murray. The other is the novelty of the sea settings used for comedy. When the humor elements involving both are meshed, the film is an offbeat pleasure. But it falters when Anderson burdens the story with sentimentality.
Zissou (Murray) is a renowned documentary filmmaker who is forever struggling to raise the money he needs. Tragedy has struck on his last expedition. A humongous shark ate his best friend. Zissou is going back to hunt the culprit and kill him. Asked why he would want to kill such a rarity instead of bringing it back to study, Zissou replies simply—and you can imagine Murray speaking—“Vengeance.”
An amusing—for the audience-- member of the crew is Willem Dafoe as the overly sensitive, hot-tempered Klaus Daimler, complete with a German accent. There is also Anjelica Huston as Steve’s wife Eleanor, always dryly hyper-critical and fed up, as well as having second thoughts about her previous husband (Jeff Goldblum). Coming aboard for the expedition is Jane, a pregnant reporter, played by Cate Blanchett. She does all right but it’s not one of her better roles.
The sentiment begins to rear its head with the appearance of Ned (Owen Wilson), also made part of the crew. He could be Steve’s long-lost illegitimate son. Here again, when humor is attached, the situation is entertaining, but when things get serious, an encounter with the shark might be preferable.
Credit Robert Yeoman, director of photography, with a good-looking movie and plenty of eye-catching sequences that take us into the realm of marine life. This is the oddest expedition you may encounter, and much of it is very funny, especially when Steve behaves at his unethical worst, enhanced by Bill Murray’s expression, body language and feigned nonchalance. A Touchtone Pictures release.
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