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Title: Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Max Records | ... | Max | |
 |
Pepita Emmerichs | ... | Claire |
|
|
Max Pfeifer | ... | Claire's Friend |
|
|
Madeleine Greaves | ... | Claire's Friend |
|
|
Joshua Jay | ... | Claire's Friend |
| Ryan Corr | ... | Claire's Friend | |
| Catherine Keener | ... | Mom | |
| Steve Mouzakis | ... | Teacher | |
| Mark Ruffalo | ... | The Boyfriend | |
| James Gandolfini | ... | Carol (voice) | |
| Vincent Crowley | ... | Carol Suit Performer | |
| Paul Dano | ... | Alexander (voice) | |
| Sonny Gerasimowicz | ... | Alexander Suit Performer | |
| Catherine O'Hara | ... | Judith (voice) | |
| Nick Farnell | ... | Judith Suit Performer | |
A young boy named Max has an active imagination, and he will throw fits if others don't go along with what he wants. Max - following an incident with Claire (his sister) and her friends, and following a tantrum which he throws as a result of his Mother paying more attention to her boyfriend than to him - runs away from home. Wearing his wolf costume at the time, Max not only runs away physically, but runs toward a world in his imagination. This world, an ocean away, is inhabited by large wild beasts, including one named Carol who is much like Max himself in temperament. Instead of eating Max like they normally would with creatures of his type, the wild things befriend Max after he proclaims himself a king who can magically solve all their problems. Written by Huggo
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Last night we went to see Spike Jonez's film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. I can't say that the film was bad. Considering that everyone in our party, who ranged in age from 7 to 42, had an incredibly strong reaction to it, I have to admit that it probably is quite good. It doesn't mean however, that any of us liked it. None of us did.
As a child, I found the book a little creepy and maybe even sad, but the last images, those of Max returning to his own room on the very night that he had left it and finding his supper, left for him still warm, redeemed some of the angst of the book. Those last few lines left this little reader feeling relieved and hopeful that tomorrow would be a better day for young Max. The film offered no such relief from the considerable gloom and sadness it inflicted.
In fact, Jonez's adaptation was overwhelmingly sad from beginning to end. Worse, there was a weighty hopelessness to it all. Jonez's characters, whether human or monster were so wholly deficient that they appear forever locked in a cycle of longing for love, understanding and acceptance without any apparent means to make it happen. Not one of them presented the strength in character to make those slight alterations of growth and understanding that would break the barrier and connect with the very creature standing next to him, who although desirous of the exact same thing, is somehow rendered unreachable.
The effect was so powerful that even the chatty, joyful eight year old girl in our group left the theater legitimately depressed, an emotion that is completely new to her. If the director's intention was to leave his audience with this level of hopelessness, then the film is brilliant. I myself will not be purchasing the DVD.