Before the Warner Bros. logo appeared on the screen this past Saturday, I had read my share of reviews concerning Spike Jonze’s latest great movie “Where The Wild Things Are”. Most critics seemed to see the film as an ode to childhood. As the credits began following the film, I honestly had – and still have – no idea what movie they saw.
“Where The Wild Things Are” is not an ode to childhood. It’s about that time in our lives when we find ourselves in that moment between being immature and being, well, mature.
Look closely at the wild things themselves. Each represents a different part of Max (played so damn well by Max Records), the main two being Carol (James Gandolfini) and K.W. (Lauren Ambrose). What do these two represent exactly? And, why do they seem to have an attraction to one another, even though at the same time they can’t seem to find common ground?
Carol is Max’s immature childhood, wanting to have fun and be happy, yet constantly torn away from getting those things by an overactive tendency to whine. K.W. is similar to Max’s sister Claire and actually represents Max’s maturity – constantly at odds with his immaturity. There are times when the two get along fine, but the two can never co-exist, because they demand different experiences and desires from life.
K.W. for example chooses to hang out with two owls, which only she can hear. Max and Carol only hear bird noises. K.W. and the owls represent Max growing up finding interests he doesn’t even know he wants – or even knows about. He has most likely heard his sister talk about such things, but to him such things made about as much sense as listening to birds.
Despite this, Max finds himself drawn to K.W., wanting to hang out with her more and more as the film progresses. He begins to see things more her way than Carol’s way, as he did early on in the film. Carol, of course, hates this and lashes out, the sequence when he chases Max through the woods definitely hinting at a possible memory of Max’s relationship with his father. In fact, a lot of the actions by the wild things in the film hint at events from Max’s past.
The ending of the movie, though, is where things come together. Max leaves the wild things behind, a look of resolve on his face as he sails away, howling along a teary-eyed Carol. Max makes peace with himself. He knows that he will grow up and mature, but he also knows that he will never be able to fully leave he childhood behind.
The final scene where Max eats as his mother falls asleep at the kitchen table says it all. Max from early in the film – the immature Max – would have been angry with his mother for falling asleep during his time with her. Instead, the new, mature Max smiles, accepting his mother for who she is. He’s happy to be home and he’s happy to be growing up.
Spike Jonze has made a masterpiece. This is obviously not a children’s movie. In fact, I would not show a child under ten this movie, because it’s so much deeper than any of the trailers hint at. Still, who cares about the advertising? I don’t want to say much about that. I just want to say that people should definitely give this film a chance. It’s so damn good, and I cannot wait to see it again.
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