Where the Wild Things Are

On Tuesday, I decided that I was taking the evening off and seeing a movie. My friend and I went to see the new movie Where the Wild Things Are, director Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s story. Now to be honest, I don't really remember the book from when I was younger, truth be told, I only recognize the title's font (oh, the foreshadowing to my life as a CreComm student!)

The film stars newcomer Max Records as Max, a sensitive, creative kid who's adjusting uneasily to his parents' divorce. The opening scene sets the tone as a hand held camera shakily follows a screaming Max as he chases his dog through the house. We soon learn that Max is starved for attention and hypersensitive to boot, bursting into tears when his older sister’s friends trash his igloo.

I don't mean to sound so negative, but my immediate thought when I watched Max, was "his irratic behaviour is probably due to the fact he has some form of ADHD, and emotional issues dealing with his parents divorce".

The viewer watches and is almost forced to analyze Max's behaviour and feelings to his igloo being destroyed, his sister not sticking up for him and his mom not giving him attention - because each of these individual feelings finds its physical representation later in the story, giving Max a unique and unexpected opportunity to look outside himself and see not only how he really feels, but how those feelings impact the others around him.

After throwing a temper tantrum when his mom (Catherine Keener) chooses to pay attention to her new "friend" (Mark Ruffalo) instead of Max's latest flight of fancy, he runs out of their house and out into the night. Taking to the sea in a kid-sized sailboat, Max crosses the sea, finally landing on the rocky shore of a mysterious island inhabited by strange, monstrous beasts. But when he proclaims himself their ruler, Max decides he's discovered a place of refuge where he can create his own happiness – that is, until the problems of the real world begin to work their way into the supposed fun of his fantasy kingdom.



During the movie, I had trouble deciding if this was truly a film for children, or adults. There were scenes that were quite violent, like the mud war- where characters were getting pummeled by huge boulders. I was worried for the little five year old girl beside me, who was cuddling up to her mother during this scary scene.

However, in the same breath, perhaps this movie was intended for kids, because it basically spelled out the message over and over again nearing the end. To the point where I leaned over to my friend and whispered "Ok! We get it, wrap it up!" (One thing I can't stand in movies, is when filmmakers do not give the viewer enough credit, and feel they need to repeat their point or make it more obvious so the audience comprehends.)

What I do appreciate though, is how Spike Jonze focuses on the intimate and personal interactions between characters. He not only creates a world that seems directly born of Max's imagination, but one where those feelings and thoughts are raw and immediate, seeming fun, scary, and strangely human all at the same time. However, because of that balance between the exciting and the scary, it remains to be seen whether kids will really identify with Max, since so much of what he goes through is so painful.

The movie was quite touching and sad. My heart went out to Max because I felt bad for him and understood he was experiencing the negative emotional impact of his parent's divorce and as a result acting out because he doesn't how else to deal with his situation. By the end, I was tearing up, and so was the little girl beside me. However, I think she was crying and sniffling because Max had to say goodbye to his furry friends he made.