Is there a director with a more distinct signature than Wes Anderson? His meticulous mise-en-scene has spawned a slew of copycats; the word “twee” might have been created specifically to refer to his brand of filmmaking.
Fantastic Mr. Fox was one of my Top 10 Films of 2009, but beyond that, the Anderson ouvre has been one of diminishing returns. I liked Rushmore, but was never over the moon about it the way many critics are; The Royal Tenenbaums was more my speed, because at the time, it felt fresh. But then I’d had my fill of quirk. I just couldn’t muster the will to see The Life Aquatic or The Darjeeling Limited, which seemed like increasingly fanciful retreads of the same damn thing. It’s a criticism lobbed at Anderson often; I imagine he takes offense to that argument that “all his movies are the same.” Must an artist necessarily broaden his horizons from one project to the next?
