Savannah Neefe, Braden Dillon, Crystal Pacheco, Kalena Picard

Professor Nabhan

Film 1020

Dec. 6, 2017

Symmetry in Frame, Symmetry in Game

Wes Anderson, beginning his career with Bottle Rocket in 1996, has quickly become a

renowned auteur. If you were to pause any of his movies at almost any shot, you would know

just by that shot that it was a work of Anderson. From his camera style, to themes, and even story

line, Anderson is consistent and predictably unpredictable. As a director he has received

countless awards, with his films winning even more. His style, being extremely symmetrical and

neat, lends to his personality- organized and precise. While pleasing to the eye, his scenes create

a world of his own. A world where the same actors play in similar roles and experience odd

things, all leaving the audience with the same residual feelings. His films, though vastly

different, seem to tell the same story, a person out of the norm learning how to navigate new

complexities of life. Overall, Anderson harnesses his quirkiness and colorful mind to create

exciting films that take us on a journey through his inventive world.

A typical Wes Anderson scene is meticulously set and styled, captivating the viewer with

bold colors and symmetric shots. Visually, this allows one to experience a world where

everything is in its proper place. Anderson also loves to utilize specific camera techniques, such

as slow motion, tilt, overhead, and tracking shots. Another stylistic move that Anderson

captivates is the concept of long. As you watch his movies, it is easy to notice that he uses long
shots, long scenes, and even long dialogue. This is different than many popular movies today

which jump from this to that, to maintain the viewers attention. He also, however, plays with the

montage film technique in every movie. This is where a series of short clips are tied together as

one, usually with one song or narrative speaking over the series. An example of this is in

Andersons second film Rushmore (1998). In the film we see a young high school students

extracurricular activities, which are many. Approximately eighteen. This scene showed eighteen

shots of Max Fischer engaging in each activity, all folded up into one, neat minute and thirteen

second clip.

Another favorite of Anderson is the use of slow motion. These clips usually occur during

an intense moment in the movie, and is used to elaborate on the existing drama. An iconic

example is when Gwyneth Paltrows character from The Royal Tenenbaums steps off a bus, to

see her awaiting brother, whom she is in love with. Though the emotion seems to be mild, it is

actually extraordinary in contrast to the emotion we see throughout that movie and Andersons

other movies. He plays with deadpan, where his characters express very little emotion. So the

slow motion is necessary to exemplify how huge it is that Margot (Gwyneths character) is even

showing a slight, genuine smile. It was one of those magical moments, said Robert Yeoman, an

American cinematographer, who has collaborated with Anderson on every film except for

Fantastic Mr. Fox. They have teamed up to create Andersons art and style, distinguishable and

clean.

Yeoman also speaks on Andersons deliberate choice of music, In the early days of our

movies, Wes had pretty much chosen ahead of time every song that was going to be in the movie,

and we would play it on set. This shows that he is well thought out and knows the value of
music to film. His choice of songs, often expressing much emotion, adds intensity to his

stylistically deadpan dialogue. Along with bold colors and perfect symmetry in his shots,

Anderson loves to play with mid line. He finds his center and adds to it. A great example of this

is when his characters walk together. One ahead, dead center, and two others one either side of

him. Aesthetically, this is exceptionally satisfying. It feels good to watch his movies, because

naturally, we enjoy symmetry.

Though his scenes are symmetrical and make sense in the viewers eyes, his themes are a

different story. Anderson tells odd stories, with odd characters who have odd lives. He entertains

us with the idea that weird is normal. Something that might be absolutely absurd to us is

portrayed as normal and even mundane to his characters. Going back to The Royal

Tenenbaums where Margot is in love with Richie, her brother... Her brother! This is absolutely

taboo in modern times, and even though Margot was adopted, it does not make it any more okay.

But, even with that perspective, Anderson plays as if nothing is out of line. Another scandalous

love theme occurs in Rushmore where a young Max Fischer falls in love with an elementary

teacher, Rosemary. He pursues her diligently and eventually takes great revenge on former

friend, Herman Blume, played by Bill Murray, who does have an affair with Rosemary. These

odd love affairs are a signature of Anderson.

Another sign that you are watching an Anderson film is the cast. Wes keeps good

relationships with the people he works with. As said before, he has worked with Yeoman on

virtually every movie. But, background help is not the only constant in his films. He loves to

work with the same cast over and over again. With Bill Murray showing up in every movie

except for Bottle Rocket, Anderson fans have come to love his appearance. Murray, who often
plays a distant father figure, is a staple in Andersons personal world of film. He has also worked

heavily with acting brothers Owen and Luke Wilson. From the get go, the two have starred in his

movies. Usually, as fate would have it, as brothers. He has also worked with Andrew Wilson,

Jason Shwartzman, Anjelica Hutson, Ben Stiller, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Each of these actors

have mastered Andersons deadpan, emotionless dialogue and blocking. A conversation between

Margot and her two nephews demonstrates this in The Royal Tenenbaums. One nephew asks

Margot what happened to her finger (which is missing), she answers without a beat, describing

how it was chopped off by her biological brother. When asked if they tried to save the finger she

monotonically states that it wasnt worth it.

This scene, along with many others, portrays the irony of no emotion. His characters,

though experiencing strange and often tragic circumstances, show no trace of feelings. As is his

go to storyline. Anderson has maintained the tale of unconventional characters going through

turmoil and somehow, in their own little way, making it work. He pulls these anecdotes from his

own upbringing. As a child, his parents divorced and he had the fortune of a distant, unloving

father, so he was in turn raised by a single mother. This was evident in Rushmore where

Herman Blume, a married man with two adolescent boys, has an affair with an elementary

teacher at the school his own boys attend. Blume sees his children as ignorant and annoying, and

does eventually get a divorce due to his adulterous actions with the teacher.

Another common storyline is self-discovery and self-awareness. We often see children in

his movies acting more adultlike than the adults. This, I am sure is in part due to his own

childhood. But no child can truly be an adult. In fact, children who act more adult are most often

the ones who are troubled and in need of help. In Moonrise Kingdom we see two children, of
course in love, discussing a book the young girl found on top of her parents refrigerator, entitled

Coping with the Very Troubled Child. When asked if this had any relation to his childhood,

Wes replied Yes. It was directly taken from my childhood. It wasnt anything terrible. Its just

something that at the time, when I found it, I was like [grits teeth], What is this! I immediately

knew who that troubled child was even though hypothetically it could have been someone else.

These personal experiences seem to be spread evenly through his movies. Rushmore was

filmed mainly at the high school Wes attended as a teen. Perhaps these films are not only an

exploration of his characters self-worth and placement in the world, but more accurately, an

exploration of Wes Andersons self-worth and placement in the world.

Just as an artist portrays himself in his work, or a musician tells her story through lyrics

and song, Wes Anderson displays his journal to the world through style, theme, and storyline in

film. He has mastered the art of different camera techniques such as tilt, tracking, and overhead.

Anderson uses specific techniques in important places to evoke emotion and depth in his

characters and back to the viewer. Slow motion and montage are signature moves of Anderson,

used to show intensity and also to articulate the odd traits of his offbeat characters. He and

Yeoman work together to make precise, clean, and geometrically pleasing scenes that are

recognizably Anderson. By having good relationships with his cast and crew, he has created

movie after movie with similar vibes and air with the same actors delivering a practiced and

perfected deadpan sarcastic expression. Wes Anderson, though still under the age of fifty, has in

only twenty years become one of the worlds modern auteurs. And with another movie coming

out shortly, his legacy of color will continue on timelessly, effortlessly, seamlessly.
 Works Cited

Wes Anderson is one of cinema's autuers. The Conversation, The Conversation US, 2017,

theconversation.com/wes-anderson-is-one-of-cinemas-great-auteurs-discuss-25198.

Buchanan, Kyle. How Wes Andersons Cinematographer Shot These 9 Great Scenes.Vulture,

New York Media LLC, 2017,

www.vulture.com/2015/01/how-wes-andersons-cinematographer-shot-9-scenes.html.

Au, Jan. Montage Effect.Film Studies, Prezi inc, 2017,

prezi.com/mitfjodtxcda/film-studies-montage-effect/.

Suzanka, Joseph. The Specter of Broken Fatherhood in the Films of Wes Anderson.Patheos,

Patheos, 3 Dec. 2010, Au, Jan. Montage Effect. Film Studies, Prezi inc, 2017,

prezi.com/mitfjodtxcda/film-studies-montage-effect/.

Miller, Julie. Wes Anderson on Moonrise Kingdom, First Loves, and Collaborating with Bill

Murray.Vanity Fair, Conde Nast, 22 June 2012,

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/06/wes-anderson-moonrise-kingdom-bill-murray-i

nterview.