The filmmaker Wes Anderson called “one of the most inventive directors”
When we talk about the great auteurs throughout film history, it is easy to notice how their styles had unique characteristics. While these singular creative signatures have been systematically eliminated within the domain of contemporary mainstream cinema, some filmmakers, like Wes Anderson, have successfully resisted the erosion of their individuality.
Anderson’s beautiful filmography is a result of his uncompromising and inimitable creative vision. Through projects such as Moonrise Kingdom and The Royal Tenenbaums, he has facilitated the creation of a consistent aesthetic system. Anderson has routinely probed the illusory nature of the cinematic medium and its inherent superficiality within this system.
While online meme culture has often associated the use of symmetric visuals with Anderson’s style, the American director is much more concerned with the question of representation. His chosen method is thoroughly postmodern and self-reflexive, enabling the audience to comprehend the human condition in innovative ways.
During a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Anderson was asked to name his five favourite films of all time. To everyone’s surprise, he cited horror films such as Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. In terms of creative sensibilities, these films are as far away from his own works as you can get.
In addition to the aforementioned works, Anderson also named Mike Nichols’ seminal debut Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He revealed: “When I first saw that movie, it made me feel bad. I didn’t fall in love with it. I loved The Graduate when I first saw it, but [Virginia Woolf], I wasn’t excited by it, because it seemed like there was a negativity about it.”
The film was one of the most important achievements of the New Hollywood movement, but it failed to impress Anderson when he first saw it. An adaptation of Edward Albee’s eponymous play, Nichols’ directorial debut is an unprecedented analysis of a dysfunctional marriage which acts as an incisive critique of societal degradation.
After watching it for the second time, it became one of Anderson’s all-time favourites. He added: “But when I watched it more recently I thought it was the most beautiful, inspired, exciting movie. Mike Nichols is one of the most inventive directors that we’ve had, and that’s one of the great, you know, it’s a great movie, and a stunning first film.”
