The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - ***1/2

Wes Anderson is the type of director who likes to do more with less. He made The Royal Tenenbaums on $21 million dollars, and judging by the cast, much of that must have gone to salary. Much of the same with "The Life Aquatic", made on $25 million, and with a cast that includes Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum and Cate Blanchett the same can be said for this one. Bill Murray stars as Steve Zissou, a famed oceanographer and documentarist who after losing his friend to a shark, vows to track the creature down and kill it. Before he gets a chance to do this a man who may or may not be his son comes into his life (Luke Wilson). He, Ned Plimpton, and Steve set out with his famed crew and a journalist named Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) in tow. On the line is more than just revenge, this is Steve's last chance to prove himself to the world that he still has "it" as a filmmaker, and to try to build a relationship with Ned. Wes Anderson has unsurpassed creativity, and shows it in everyone of his films. This is his first work without the writing assistance of Owen Wilson (who is currently occupied as he becomes one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood), and Noah Baumbach seems to keep the screenplay as sharp as ever. As I've said, the film was made for a pittance, so how good this film looks is insane. Now I'm not saying this is a perfect movie. As the movie went on the jokes seemed to get strained, but another fantastic performance from Bill Murray brought it back from the edge of mediocrity. In the end, The Life with Steve Zissou is a very good movie, worthy of recommendation, even in the midst of a competitive award season. Thumbs up.