The Authorship of Wes Anderson

3 Films Reviewed:

Rushmore

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Grand Budapest Hotel

         Our assignment this week was to pick a Director from a list of about twenty and watch three of their movies, and then give a brief explanation about what makes a movie belong to them, or how it is that someone can watch a movie and just know that a specific director made it. I chose Wes Anderson to write about.

      I think the defining characteristic of Wes Anderson s  Films is his use of the camera to capture action and drama. He makes the most use of tracking shots that give movement and momentum to his stories, and symmetry mixed with an amazing color palate to bring his viewer into his movies, and give them a unique look into the world he creates. The symmetry of his shots seems to be hard to notice at first, but once it was pointed out to me, I was amazed at how dominate this particular technique was.  If anything these techniques can keep a movie going even during those unexciting parts that bathroom breaks are reserved for.

     He keeps a very fluid cast, with many actors and actresses appearing time and time again. For example Bill Murry has been in every single Wes Anderson film, save one, and Angelica Houston is also a Wes Anderson veteran with many reoccurring roles. With his movies being so character driven, he has made a great choice to stick with Bill Murry because he does so amazingly well in those types of acting situations.

     In the movies that I watched there was a very real feeling of family and kinship that took center stage as a general motif of course always paired with a great antagonist to keep the narrative moving along. Each one of the Movies I watched were set in a particular period, and in this I think it also reflects a repeating characteristic of Wes in that he loves a good period piece.