What would life in a Wes Anderson film look like? Sometimes quoted as Cinema’s most misunderstood filmmaker, Wes Anderson is perpetually known for his very particular filmmaking style. Symmetry, Palette, Imagination. The worlds of Wes Anderson are far outside of our day-to-day norm, but that might just be what draws our attention. A figure in films since the 90s, Wes Anderson has created an eccentric foothold in the film industry, resulting in an unprecedented melancholic influence on today’s society.
The visual storytelling of Wes Anderson’s films is what compels his identity Unmistakable color schemes and settings create this underlying, unshakable feeling of nostalgia. A mix of props from varying decades drives this nostalgic overcast, alongside the intricate color palette. Rich purples and pinks of the Grand Budapest Hotel, the pastel blues and oranges of Moonrise Kingdom, and the burnt orange and yellows of The Fantastic Mr. Fox: The audience doesn’t need much more to be captivated. Perfect hues fill the screen, satisfying the viewer’s eye with a presentation of stunning visuals. It’s undeniable. Color isn’t singularly responsible for this intense infliction of emotion. The combination of the shots within the film and symmetry moulds a melodramatic atmosphere for all those watching.
The message of Wes Anderson’s films is intensely direct. We as an audience are as much of a prop to the experience as the scene in which the film is set, the colour palettes and symmetry plucking the strings of our puppeted emotions. We feel what Wes Anderson himself wants to feel. We experience the colour palette, the shift of emotion, the nostalgia as he does as he intends. Each shot of every film is implicit and speaks to a degree different from almost every other film. His influence on culture is remarkable – almost every young person I know is familiar with Wes Anderson and his craft. Whether or not they have seen one of his films, they can almost always picture his style. Anderson has somehow taken a feeling of nostalgia and turned it into a film the world wants to see. The integrity of the film upholds all that we’re against – I mean, does anyone truly enjoy feeling nostalgic? Nonetheless, the films captivate me every time.
Although uniquely its own, the whimsical world of Wes Anderson has been sharply criticized by many. Emotionless, shallow, “style over substance”. The attention to detail and craft within his films have created a belief that the films themselves are lacking in depth, that the hyper-stylised visual aesthetics allow for a lack of purpose. Perhaps some may believe this to be true – film is often subjective to the viewer. However, to say Anderson’s films are lacking heart strips the film simply because the exquisite visual style portrays a story formatted differently from that of the usual, action-packed Hollywood film.
Anderson’s films have created a space for a quieter notion, one far from the swift-moving pace and action of the real world. Rather than gaining traction from the intense pace of a scene, the dictation of the colours, setting, and symmetry all play parts in the transformative experience of watching a Wes Anderson film. These films have created a desire for nostalgia, a grasp towards melancholy. While critics reprimand the visual aesthetic as a loss of depth, it’s the visuals and meticulous details that have developed room for this new approach to cinema. His films tell us that maybe we can enjoy something particular, something different from the reality of the world. Perhaps a niche aesthetic, a focus on soft details and colour palettes is what’s most alluring to mankind in this chaotic world of ever evolving action and drama.