I own this movie so it's already got a plus from me. Being based on the book, there are some added scenes by Spike Jones and Dave Eggers to develop what the narrative already tells us: that Max is a lonely, misunderstood 9-year-old boy living somewhere in New England (where it snows and there's an ocean nearby). His mom (played by the lovely, lovely Catherine Keener) can sympathize when he feels down and tries to comfort him when his big sister's friend smash his igloo (they don't mean to make him cry, though), just as he tries to comfort her when she thinks she's failing at work, although, by dancing in front of her while she's on the phone and telling her stories that she types out in the computer. It's a step-by-step psychological study of our hero before he becomes the hero.
The wolf suit (I want one) comes on one night when Max's mother is with her boyfriend and is ignoring Max's invitation to get in his "rocket ship before lava comes." So he puts on his wolf costume (with Converse sneakers!), stomps his way down the stairs, and gets himself into a whole mess of trouble. He shouts, climbs onto the kitchen counter and demands to be fed, and then bites his mom's shoulder after which he races out the front door barking like a dog.
All played stupendously by Max Records and scored by Karen O and the Kids. Being just 9 for the first round of shooting and almost 11 for the second, Max has the naturality of Shia LaBeouf and fearlessness of any old time actor when their craft was actually disciplined day and night, part of who they were not what they did. If you didn't know this was Spike Jonze and already a book, you'd swear you were watching Max as a documentary with his beautiful, open face and New England accent and messy brown hair and lips red enough to shun lipstick.
And just in case there's any doubt, here's a word from our sponsors just in case you're not convinced.
"This beast is Max, the boy in the wolf costume who one night slips into the kind of dream the movies were made for." - NY Times, Manohla Dargis
"Profoundly beautiful and affecting, Where the Wild Things Are is a breath-
taking act of artistic transubstantiation. Max Records, a Botticelli-faced discovery, plays the fictional Max with a lovely purity of energy and freedom — he has a rare kid-aged talent for concentration in the midst of brouhaha." - EW.com, Lisa Schwarzbaum
"Where the Wild Things Are is a startling achievement from a director with a clear vision and the strength to see it through. Working from -- but not slavishly adapting -- Maurice Sendak's beloved children's classic, Jonze has made a movie that can't help but create controversy because of its utter simplicity, which masks layers of complexity." - Huffington Post, Marshall Fine
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