Wes Anderson Films Ranked

Ranked from worst to best. Diving straight in:

7) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

After finding his feet with ‘Bottle Rocket’ and achieving his unique and would-go-on-to-become-iconic style with ‘Rushmore’, Anderson went overboard. I’m generally a fan of Anderson’s films and will usually back them when people say they’re pretentious, but not on this occasion. It actually is a pretentious and over-stylised mess of a film, as he seems to have spent far too much time making the caricature characters as quirky as possible and hiring a line up of stars to portray them. I was able to feel a slight, *slight* bit of sympathy for the character of Richie, but elsewhere there was no emotional connection and believability whatsoever. Ultimately at the end of the film I felt hollow. It’s baffling because a lot of people seem to like this film, some calling it his best work.

6) Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

I’m not the most well watched person when it comes to animation so I can’t really comment on how original I felt it to be in that respect, but it was certainly fun to see Wes Anderson auteurism in the form of an animation, and spot the voicing actors as they were introduced (the voices were perfect by the way). However, there wasn’t very much of the original Roald Dahl story left, both in terms of content and style. There was not really any genuine warmth which the original story offered, there was just dark humour, sarcastic wit… things which I like, but wish he hadn’t stuffed into this adaptation. I'm assuming the film's also marketed for kids - not sure they'd react well to some of the stuff. Pulling myself away from that issue, there were moments of excellent dialogue, I enjoyed the characters and their developments (except for ‘Rat’ who I wanted to see more of), the production design was gorgeous and mise-en-scene incredibly detailed, and the overall experience was somewhat enjoyable.

5) Bottle Rocket (1996)

A great starting point for Wes Anderson. Either because he was still finding his feet or because of the low budget, we see the plot and characters stripped-down in its bareness. Without the fancy stuff (though we do get a glimpse of his trademark shots). The dialogue is awesome (really awesome) and the intentions of these characters are very much out there for their ages but there is warmth, there is connection, there is a sweetness. As a wannabe screenwriter this film is a delight to watch - it’s like a step by step guide to making a perfectly structured film with perfect character arcs. Incredibly good writing. Overall a very enjoyable experience with great performances by the Wilson brothers.

4) The Darjeeling Limited (+ Hotel Chevalier) (2007)

A lot of people seem to think this is his most pretentious film, and while it's true that at the end we don’t really feel any completion and may think well what was the point in that?, this film actually is a guilty pleasure of mine. I admire Anderson’s attempt to cram the world into this train, as opposed to take the train out into the world which is what one would normally assume. The outside isn’t really important, that’s why there wasn’t much effort to really show you enough of India, let alone an accurate India. Pretentious or not, I really enjoyed this film, personally I loved the dialogue (as always), especially that long scene in the train restaurant (?) towards the beginning, the three of them and the two German women. By the end of that scene I had so much hope for the film, was engaged, and I wasn’t let down.

3) Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

I felt detached from the non-protagonist characters (all of them except for the 2 kids) so it lessens the ensemble feel which Anderson’s films tend to have, but as I took it as sort of nostalgic, melancholic, child’s POV film, there was no harm done. You accept that they are in control, and the adults are portrayed as powerless and stupid. And it’s charming to have so many stars play the adult characters as that itself gives the characters a sense of presence and meaning. I felt transported to another world, both geographically and POV wise. There’s no tediousness, no pretentiousness at all (I think), and if I watched all of Anderson’s films back to back this would feel the most like a breath of fresh air. Act 3 is a bit weak, but that was the only disappointment. He uses the camera very well, and the actors very well. Thoroughly enjoyable and engaging.

2) The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Contrary to the many people saying the film started off well but declined, for me the film got better and better. During the first half I thought it was incredibly pretentious, and the protagonist isn’t likeable at all so difficult to connect to, but slowly I began to like how unlikeable he was, as weird as that sounds. A bit like Jane, the reporter played by Cate Blanchett (very interesting to see her in a Wes Anderson film), who was always going to write an absolutely terrible report but by the end, in that excellent scene, squashed together with the rest of the crew, kind of accepting it all, I did that too. I was genuinely moved by the father-son dynamic, and by the end I felt incredibly satisfied. Hats off to Bill Murray who did a fantastic job with that character. He not only spoke his lines but spoke with his expressions and mannerisms, perfectly done. And I loved Klaus! Everything scene with Klaus was hilarious.

1) Rushmore (1998)

THE best Wes Anderson film. Just as the wonderfully written, fabulously acted, unlikeable but loveable at the same time, incredibly charismatic Max Fischer struggles with the real world, Wes Anderson flings himself at the real world. You’re taken for an entertaining and hilarious ride, but he never crosses the line into being pretentious or overly stylish like his later films may or may not do. You’re pulled into it because the characters aren’t just absurd, they’re believable. And it’s consistent throughout. One of my to-go films when I just can't be asked.