Where the Wild Things Are

We saw Where the Wild Things Are and when it was over, I was deeply shaken.

Spike Jonze directs movies beautifully and, for me, this is his most beautiful of all. Letting in this kind of movie is not that natural for me. I am not drawn to kid stuff. But this movie is primal. And it is very very sad. Leaderless wild things. A kid who is lonely and loving and powerless. James Gandolfini, a very emotional, bullying, needy monster mess, who has fits of controlling rage followed by crushing disappointment and longing for love and sadness.

The original soundtrack by Karen O and the Kids is also quite moving. Light, lyrical, right on.

Visual poetry, this movie. As a kid, I never really liked the book. I did not understand it, exactly (mostly because I was not the conquering type). But I always liked the images of the monstery beasts. They were funny. They also looked like mischievous, knowing creatures, which I liked. Their pointy teeth were unsettling to me. In the movie, they are all a bunch of existential messes with free floating depression and anxiety. It’s an interesting writing choice, all a transference from the inner life of Max.

James Gandolfini voicing over the main monster, Carol, standing at the edge of the sea when Max takes his farewell, crying and wondering why they can’t all just be together, in a happy pig pile, pretty much did me in. It could have been saccharine if it wasn’t so real and base and, yes, again, I’ll type it—primal.

It’s one of those movies about love, but somehow makes love, again, primal.

Solid. Beautiful. Love the big hairy suits. Max Records is a winning kid. Catherine Keener’s edge is always palpable. James Gandolfini could get a Golden Furbie Award.
Lauren Ambrose schlepped around admirably, with smart care.

It’s a great movie. It is a strange takeoff from the book. But good movies are.

The Dave Eggers short (from the novelization) in The New Yorker was also very good. He wrote the screenplay, too, along with Mr. Jonze.

This movie did not exactly bring me back to being a kid. But it did bring me back to being much younger and thinking about what it was like to think about what it was like to be a kid. We do grow up. But it does get nasty.