A Reel 20: THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

“…I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out and find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it.”

 

This week marks the 20^th anniversary of THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU. 

 

The fourth feature film from Wes Anderson, THE LIFE AQUATIC told the sea-story of washed-up oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), who sets out on a revenge mission against a rare shark with cameras rolling. Along the way he flirts with a journalist (Cate Blanchett), loses his wife (Anjelica Huston), and looks for a new relationship with his probably-maybe son (Owen Wilson). 

 

Written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach, THE LIFE AQUATIC was heavily inspired by one of Anderson’s childhood heroes, famed French filmmaker and oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. This would be Anderson’s most ambitious adventure, with a script that called for exotic locations across the globe, including over and under the water, movie premieres, pirate raids, rescue missions, and a collection of fictional sea creatures. Filming locations would include Rome, Naples, Ponza, and the Italian Riviera. Zissou’s crew would need a ship, and a decommission minesweeper would be brought in. In one iconic scene, a nearly-full scale cutaway of the ship, the Belafonte, would be built. 

 

In addition to Murray, Huston, Blanchett, and Wilson, THE LIFE AQUATIC would crew up an impressive cast which included Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, Bud Cort, Robyn Cohen, and Waris Ahluwalia. Brazilian actor and musician Seu Jorge would also star, and would provide cover versions of David Bowie songs in Portuguese. 

 

THE LIFE AQUATIC would open on Christmas Day in 2004. It would be met with mixed reviews and be a box office flop, although it did receive nominations from several Guilds and Blanchett took home some minor awards. In the last two decades the film has developed a cult following, and has been reevaluated as one of Anderson’s best. 

 

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There is an old rule (or guideline), in screenwriting: spend your first two acts putting your character up a tree, and the last act getting him down. This is a rule that has worked for 100 years in cinema, but in true Anderson style, THE LIFE AQUATIC begins with his character already up the tree. Zissou at the start, like many of Anderson’s characters, find themselves in some sort of mid-life crisis, and the following adventure that is about to unspool is about them finding their way out. For Zissou, this was about getting his career back on track while reconnecting with those that love or idolize him. Age is a factor here. We understood it on the surface in 2004, and two decades later, we understand its deeper meaning.  

 

THE LIFE AQUATIC wears it’s love for Cousteau on its sleeves, but it also takes classic cues from Moby Dick and The Old Man and the Sea. These guiding stars, along with the locations, stop-motion creatures, and stunning use of color, gives the film a timeless feel. And although the Belafonte doesn’t quite reach the heights of cinematic vehicles like the Enterprise or Titanic, it is still designed in such a way that makes us love her. This is one of this Blogger’s favorite all-time films, and its closing quote sails with me every day: 

 

“This is an adventure.”