Talk about "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" here:
Review by: Breanne Derby
Plot Summary
Marine-life observer and documentary star Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) has seen better days. In his prime, his documentaries were loved by children and adults alike, and he was happy. However, his prime has long since passed, and he has aged into a washed-out, bitter old man. This is not helped by the fact that his partner was eaten by an undersea monster seen only by Steve and dubbed the "jaguar shark." In order to prove to his skeptical fans that the jaguar shark is real, and to avenge his dead friend, Steve sets out on a mission, accompanied with his crew, a man thought to be his son, and a pregnant reporter, to capture and kill the shark that ate his friend.
Review
This film is ultimately very difficult to review. The plot isn't all that in-depth, and it's not brilliantly filmed or written in any way shape or form, but it's not a bad movie, just really very strange. As Roger Ebert said, "I can't recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it."
One thing that this film really had going for it was the fact that it's wholly unlike any other film I've seen, especially those I've seen lately, which tend to be all very much the same. The entire film is shot in a manner so that it seems to be something of a joke.
It struck me as somewhat curious that Steve Zissou, the washed-up documentary star who misses his glory days is played by Bill Murray, a washed-up actor who more than likely misses his glory days. There's one scene in particular where Zissou talks of how this is probably his last mission, and how he wanted to go out with a bang but in the end he'll probably just end up going home, and I wondered if this manner of thinking reflected Murray's outlook on the Hollywood scene. Will this be one of his last movies? If so he didn't really go out with a bang, and probably will end up just going home. However, I imagine that Bill Murray will continue his acting career, though he won't be anywhere near as popular as he was during the Ghostbusters era, and I have complete confidence that he'll still be able to make a career of acting (even if it's just cameos here and there) until the end of his days.
In The Life Aquatic, there were several interesting scenes of marine life. They were done with computers, and not done to look realistic. Normally this would be something I would complain about, but for this film, it fit. The playful almost cartoon-esque look of the Crayon Seapony and other aquatic creatures melded well with the general mood of the film. In fact, if there was one scene which I think would summarize the film well, it would be the one with the Seapony. Most of the scenes in this film leave you thinking "what the heck?"
Another thing worth noting is the soundtrack. While it has some songs that are what we would consider "normal" for a soundtrack, most of the music in the film is performed by Seu Jorge, who plays Pele dos
Santos, one of Zissou's crew. The songs he sings and plays for the soundtrack are Portuguese David Bowie covers.
Conclusion
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a very motley film. It is utterly bizarre in the most possible way. I was entertained by the film, it was not a bad movie in the sense that I wanted to get up out of my chair and stop watching it forever, but it was not a good movie in the sense that I would encourage everyone I know to see it. This film is nothing short of bizarre and it's difficult to come to a conclusion as to whether or not I liked it.
