Shockingly honest, emotionally satisfying, and beautifully realized, “Where the Wild Things Are,” Spike Jonze’s adaption of the children’s story by Maurice Sendak, is a cinematic gem that conveys both the fragility and joy of childhood through truthful, sometimes heart-breaking, images. In short, through these images, Jonze (who also directed the equally great “Being John Malkovich”) has arguably made one of the best films about childhood emotion.
The film, brought to the screen delicately by Jonze and fellow screenwriter Dave Eggers, follows Max (played by newcomer Max Records), a lonesome young boy, as he yearns for the attention of his older sister and his caring, yet stressed, mother (Catherine Keener). Upset by this lack of attention, Max runs away from and home and into his imagination. There, on an island, he meets the Wild Things, a group of big, animal-like creatures. Not long after they meet Max, the Wild Things declare him their king. Finally feeling appreciated and loved, Max lets out a kingly battle cry, “Let the wild rumpus start!”
One could almost describe the film as a “wild rumpus” of sorts. Once Max enters the land of the Wild Things, the film becomes infused with the liveliness of a child’s imagination as it bounces from one scene to the next, somehow managing to avoid feeling unfocused or scatter-brained. Of course, the Wild Things segments would not have worked so well if it was not for the film’s opening scenes. These scenes, marvelously acted by Records and Keener, say more about child-parent relationships without words than most movies do with words. Because Max does not understand how to deal with his frustration towards his mother, nor does he fully understand where his mother is coming from, he, like many children, has to delve into his imagination to sort out his problems and come to an understanding about the meaning of love, the pain that comes with growing up, and the harshness, but also the benefits, of change.
It is through the Wild Things that Max is able to sort out his feelings. The Wild Things represent the exaggerated emotions inside of himself and the other people in his life. Through his imagination, Max is able to see certain events from his real life play out among the Wild Things. This gives him a new perspective that leads to the film’s touching climactic scenes – one which takes place in his imagination and one which takes place at home with his mother.
In fact, there is hardly a scene in “Where the Wild Things Are” that does not pierce the emotions. Nearly every frame feels intensely personal. And every frame is also beautiful. Cinematographer Lance Acord outdoes himself in probing both the light and dark landscapes in Max’s fantastical world. In fact, all of the film’s technical elements add something significant to the film to make it more effective. The film’s score, a collaboration between musician Karen O. and composer Carter Burwell, really captures the film’s melancholic, almost wistful, mood.
However, perhaps the film’s greatest technical achievement is an aspect that one hardly notices – the Wild Things themselves. Jonze and company made a wise move in not making the creatures computer generated. In fact, making them computer generated would have killed the film’s charm and originality. CGI has become the easy route nowadays, and while some computer effects can be brilliant and long-lasting, others look lazy and almost laughable a few years down the road. By making the Wild Things puppets with computer generated faces, Jonze was able to capture the emotion on the creatures’ faces without robbing them of their beautiful simplicity.
To conclude, “Where the Wild Things Are” clearly comes from a director with a unique and precise vision. Mr. Jonze has outdone himself in creating an emotional film about childhood that never rings false. Nearly every aspect of his film feels organic, as if it all came bursting forth from a place deep within him. This kind of emotional truth is hard to come by, and very few directors have the talent to convey it so purely on the screen. Thankfully, Mr. Jonze is one of them.
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