My wife and I took our youngest son to see Where the Wild Things Are last week. I loved this movie. My wife didn’t like it. My son, who is non-verbal, only enjoyed parts of it.
For me, Spike Jonze captured the inner life of the introspective child beautifully. The starkness of the landscape around the monsters’ home — the somewhat gloomy forest, the jagged surf-pounded cliffs, the sepia shoreline –reflects the interior emotional ecosystem of the introvert: rough, severe, yet often beautiful in its wildness. With the “monster” characters themselves, Jonze and his actors vividly capture how the boy Max’s anxieties project into adulthood.
Introspective children grow into introspective adults. Each of the monsters is a piece of the boy who will grow into the boyish man. James Gandolfini’s characterization of the monster Carol simmers with the confusion, anger, and subdued bafflement of every man who has ever awoken to the sudden realization that his youth is truly, finally, and irrevocably over. “Why are things working out this way? This isn’t what I was promised!,” Carol seems to say, though he doesn’t so much say it as show it through his pleading voice. Despite Max’s promises, there is nothing Max can do to make it all better. He can only offer hope and a new perspective for a short while.
At the end of the film, Max leaves the monsters behind on the island, and sails back home to the warm embrace of his mother, who is his only family. It’s tempting to think that Max will remain in his mother’s embrace forever, that he will never return to the monsters, or if he does return, that the monsters will have sorted everything out so that nothing is left but the rumpus. I’m not so sure. I think Max will travel between home and the monsters for the rest of his life.
4 replies on “Where the Wild Things Are”
I loved this review David. I posted some thoughts on a comment on my FB page, but this review made me think of the movie in a different way, and like it even more. I didn’t think of the monsters as parts of Max himself but that makes a lot of sense. I’d liked the way Carol can be so destructive, and how Max told the other monster who he loves (can’t remember her name) how he was just scared. I think that is so true that when we – anyone – reacts in anger and rage and mean words they are acting out of fear. For someone to recognize that is an act of maturity, even if it means you can’t be around them. And the fact that we all have all these parts within us is wise and interesting. Thanks for this, I’m going to share it on myFB page. 🙂
I hate to post a comment with just “Me Too” but I’m also sharing this thoughtful review on FB. I have yet to see it and thus far I’ve decided that finding someone to watch it with may not materialize in which case I’ll see it myself so I can experience it on the big screen. No waiting for the DVD to come out on this one. :/ Me wanna see.
“I think Max will travel between home and the monsters for the rest of his life.”
If the monsters represent wild, unresolved feelings, I think you’re right.
Thanks for this review. Have you come across any quality “study guide” like materials for having a good spiritual conversation about the film? thanks