The Problem With Wes Anderson

Wherever you think about a Wes Anderson movie, you will think: “IT WILL BE THE GREATEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR“ and now when you think about his movies, it‘s like thinking that “Oh no, not another dissapointment“.

Wes Anderson visual techniques are a joy to see, because his style is so refined that it‘s easy to identify it. Anderson uses a simetric frame, unconventional humor, compositions with a lots of vivid colors and the way their characters dressed, doesn‘t matter the time period.

Even, Tiktok started a trend based in his style, but Anderson instead of fully embracing it, he was mad that people misunderstood his style of movies. And when a director doesn‘t have fun with it…. it‘s usually a bad sign. Tarantino often embraces everything that looks alike to his style of directing and he enjoys it.

But… what is happening inside his mind?

Recent films like Asteroid City, The Phoenian Scheme and The French Dispatch have met with financial failure in the box office and critics have called them, a dissapointment in the career of Anderson, and the question is why?

His past films are full of meaning, interesting characters and themes that hit you hard in the feels. Movies like Isle of Dogs, The Royal Tenenbaums but he stopped doing narrative intense approaches, to focus more in his style and it‘s not a bad thing, but he sacrifaced his storytelling, to get a good shot. To have his style been so distinct and to get the right frame, but sometimes that doesn‘t matter is the story is not as compelling as the frames.

I love aesthetic films, don‘t get me wrong. But, when every frame is a painting, it starts to feel were in a museum, not watching a movie. It‘s beautiful, but also we want to feel something. Anderson has been busy focusing more into his framing, colors and technical aspects, rather than telling a good emotional story, like he used to do.

His recent film The Phoenian Scheme is a clear example that he has given up to tell a story worth telling and he is now concentrating in how the film looks. Every actor wants to work with this director, but in recent years, he has decreased in terms of directing, and this film is beautiful in cinematography, but it‘s empty on the message that wants to convey.

Wes Anderson needs to sit down and develop a story that is so intense as his technical focus, because if his risking his storytelling for aesthetic visual techniques, he‘s in the wrong path.