Where The Wild Things Are review
With the help of writer Charlie Kaufman, director Spike Jonze has conjured two of the strongest, most memorable films of the past 10 years in Adaptation and Being John Malkovich. But was their quality primarily down to Kaufman’s genius? And how would Jonze cope in the studio system with a big budget and the very different source material of Maurice Sendak’s children’s classic?
A slow start and few action scenes make Where The Wild Things Are an atypical kid’s movie with subtle themes providing more appeal to adults. The story is a little bit messy but the exploration of childhood emotions and resulting confusion is a brave, difficult undertaking well executed. The pure escapism is a joy with an uncomplicated almost monochromatic landscape and The Wild Things themselves are convincingly brought to life with CGI merely aiding refreshingly real, tangible Jim Hensonry.
But the film’s most enlightening accomplishment is the demonstration of Spike Jonze’s real talent. Stepping out Charlie Kaufman’s shadow, Jonze demonstrates that he is a feature-length film force to be reckoned with in his own right with a confident, distinctive voice.
20th Dec 2009 | Official site | On IMDb
