Wes Anderson: The Auteur

Source: Indian Paintbrush

How the acclaimed director’s stylistic elements have given rise to his own genre.

Unfortunately, since Anderson is still a modern-age director, literature regarding his film and directorial style are limited. In fact, many film scholars are still torn about his importance within film history and what category he and his films fall under. Whether you are a fan of his dry humor or distinct color palettes, you must agree that there truly is no director like Anderson. While this isn’t in an attempt to idolize the director, his use of set design, his spatial awareness within the film’s mise-en-scene, his writing and performances, all sum up to comprise his unique approach and differentiates him from other filmmakers. In his blog, “Creating an Interior Mise-en-Scène: The relationship between Interior design, production design and film”, Jean Whitehead talks about the importance of production design and mentions that “cinematic interiors are concerned with ‘atmosphere’ - atmosphere gives context to the action, it aids storytelling, reflects key characters personality traits; it even taints what we the audience see psychologically.” (2019). Therefore, the items within the film are not usually there just to make it visually appealing.

Within Anderson’s films, you are able to sense a distinct, “quirky” world separate from our own with characters that have specific shades that reflect ourselves or people we know. In his essay, “Deconstructing the Fantastic World of Wes Anderson - The Philosophy Behind the Artificial Surface of a Contemporary Director” (2016), Lucia Szemetová writes that “Anderson's sentiment causes a reinterpretation of lost values and generates specific thinking, which allow it to be considered as a mediation of his own filmic ‘philosophy.’” Confusing? ...yes. Although, what Szemetová is inferring to is that when you peel back the layers that Anderson instills in his films, particularly those regarding his colorful set designs, Anderson, like any renowned filmmaker, includes things that the audience is likely to relate to, even if the film’s actual world seems distant.

Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures

In my previous article, “Do Films Need to Reflect Society”, I talked about how irrespective of the genre or how unrealistic the film might seem, it’s imperative for writers and directors to add in something that allows the audience to relate, otherwise they will not find the film engaging. Similarly, while on the surface level, Anderson’s films might appear to have a heavy focus on the film’s surroundings, those surroundings hold a sense of attachment for the audience, even if the characters do not.

Anderson manages to input various memorabilia from past days such as records, music, costumes, and even the cars that the characters drive. However, it’s the way in which the filmmaker places these aspects within the film’s diegesis and how they contribute to the overall atmosphere of the film’s environment, that place Anderson apart from his contemporaries. For instance, the retro-vibe and warm colors abundant in Moonrise Kindgom (2012) or the European-style raging with pastel throughout The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Anderson creates a symmetrical world to ours through nostalgia. The sets in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) integrate both the styles of the early 2000s and 80s New York, mixing both to allow us to be transported to the past while still acknowledging and relating to the present. Even through Anderson’s use of soundtrack in certain scenes in films like Bottle Rocket (1996) and The Darjeeling Limited (2007), transports viewers to earlier decades while still keeping in mind current sensibilities and mindsets.

Furthermore, these nostalgia-inducing elements allow the characters to emote their feelings whether it be through the songs they listen to, the clothes they wear or the items they care about. In his essay, “A Community of Characters - the Narrative Self in the Films of Wes Anderson”, Brannon Hancock notes that “Anderson’s central characters have in common the preference for an idealized fantasy in contrast to the stark realities of their lives. They find tiny windows - perhaps they are colorful, stained-glass windows, - which provide access to another reality where they become the persons they want and believe they were born to be.” (2016). The characters in these films take the elements Anderson purposefully places into his film’s mise-en-scene and employ them in order to portray their own ideal perceptions of themselves. For instance, Suzy Bishop in Moonrise Kingdom (2012), uses her binoculars not only to obviously observe what’s going on from a distance, but also uses the device to allow the audience to understand her point-of-view and the way that she sees the world around her. Additionally, the items that were passed down to each brother in The Darjeeling Limited (2007), inundated their own personalities with that of their father, who they believed is the kind of person they need to be.

Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Furthermore, it’s not just the items within the production design that make Anderson’s films unique; it’s also the symmetry of his sets and the colors used. In The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), the hotel’s interior is perfectly symmetrical, which, yes, is visually appealing, but also brings attention to the calmness within the hotel, even with a raging war going on outside and the inner turmoil among the characters. Any time that both M. Gustave and Zero are in-frame together, you’ll notice the shot is symmetrical on both sides, alluding to the fact that both characters possess similar qualities and foreshadowing Zero’s takeover of the hotel after M. Gustave’s death.

Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Anderson’s films have become well known as a result of his color scheme. While the filmmaker doesn’t truly begin his foray into the way he uses color until his third film, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), his more recent films have consistent warm, pastel colors which set his films apart visually, but also enable him to create certain emotions and allow the characters to use these color schemes to emote. The way in which his use of color play with his characters and objects is interesting to observe. The use of color within his films also provide transitions between time. In “A Brief Analysis on the Use of Color in Film Scenes”, Yunpeng Ma states that “the whole story is constantly changing between dream and reality, which brings strong visual impact and clear visual guidance to the audience. The narrative of the story gradually echoes the depth change of color and becomes an important part of the narrative of the story.” (2019). The colors Anderson uses produces a fantasy world where the characters can portray an idealized version of themselves, similar to the function of the objects within his films. Yet another aspect that sets him apart.

As Wes Anderson’s tenth directorial venture, “The French Dispatch”, is set to release (hopefully, in theaters), in late-July, it’s interesting to note that, through the trailer, it seems as if all of his previous films are being meshed into one. Whether it be his stylistic nuisances or favorite actors, there are aspects in his upcoming film that give fodder to the notion that this could potentially be his “swan song.” However, rather than musing on gloomy conjectures, by taking a look back at his astounding body of work and how Anderson has been able to defy the standards of a conventional Hollywood director, while still having both his work be critically and commercially successful, further promotes the importance of cementing his place within film history.

Sources:

Focus Features. (2012). Moonrise Kingdom.

Fox Searchlight Pictures. (2007). The Darjeeling Limited.

Fox Searchlight Pictures. (2014). The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Hancock, B. M. (2016). A Community of Characters - the Narrative Self in the Films of Wes Anderson. Journal of Religion & Film, 9(2). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol9/iss2/3/

Ma, Y. (2019). A Brief Analysis on the Use of Color in Film Scenes Taking The Grand Budapest Hotel as an Example. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research. Retrieved from https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/icadce-19/125916112

Szemetová, L. (2016). Retrieved from https://is.cuni.cz/webapps/zzp/detail/166325/?lang=en

The Criterion Collection. (1996). Bottle Rocket.

The Criterion Collection. (2002). The Royal Tenenbaums.

Whitehead, J. (2019, May 27). Creating an interior mise-en-scène: The relationship between interior design, production design and film. Retrieved from https://filmandfurniture.com/2019/05/creating-an-interior-mise-en-scene-the-relationship-between-interior-design-production-design-and-film/