Where the Wild Things Are: Review By Josh

Where The Wild Things Are is less a movie for children than it is a movie about growing up for people who have already done so. Twelve-year old Max Records gives a fantastic performance in the lead role. Dave Eggers' screenplay treats childhood as a search for identity and a struggle to resolve complex, swirling emotions, full of joy and wonder but also pain. When asked by the Wild Things if he can keep out all the sadness, Max answers what he desperately wants to be true, that he can. And maybe by the end of the film he has learned a little how to do that.

Spike Jonze creates an enthralling visual representation of Max's psyche, both guided by yet transcending the outline of Maurice Sendak's book. The Wild Things are dynamic characters, a portrait of family as it really is, chaotic and unresolved but deeply struggling to love in spite of each others' flaws.

Wild Things is nuanced and emotionally complex, although maybe too much so in the end. There is a revelation that never seems to come despite its necessity. But maybe that's the point; Max learns to confront his own emotions in a very authentic way. Epiphanies are less effective (and less genuine) than education through experience, and that's what allows us to all grow up.

A fascinating film that I want to rewatch.