Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

dir. Spike Jonze
writ. Maurice Sendak (book), Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers (screenplay)
feat. Max Records, Catherine Keener, James Gandolfini, Paul Dano, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, Michael Berry Jr., Chris Cooper, Lauren Ambrose, Mark Ruffalo

Oftentimes, a great film adaptation requires transformation, perhaps never more so the case than with Where the Wild Things Are. Sendak's book is just a handful (or two) of pages, nowhere near the substance needed for a feature film. And substance is exactly what Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers bring to the story in their near miraculous production. Jonze must have some serious cache in Hollywood to have pulled off (and released) this murky, frightening tale that reminds the viewer of just how deeply children feel from a very young age.

The film bursts open with Max (Records) racing around the house, chaotically chasing and wrestling his dog, laughing and crashing like a wild child. In the subsequent scene, Max plays in the snow alone, yearning for companions, only to surge with excitement when he finds friends for a snowball fight, then plummet into loss and sadness when his igloo is carelessly destroyed, a scene that perfectly captures the mercurial nature of childhood joy. Jonze doesn't shy away from the difficult feelings, recognizing that loneliness and despair are intrinsically tied to hope and love. The young cling to simple ideals, notions of right and wrong that are self-centered, easily challenged and upset by the frequent disappointments of the real world. When things don't add up, distress arouses fury, and Max runs, eager to escape the pain, certain that a world exists where everything and everyone is fair and well-meaning all the time.

This foundation that Jonze establishes permits him to open the door to a fantasy realm where Max can explore his utopian hopes and dreams, even making them a reality for awhile, before he learns that no such place exists or can exist. By playing king, Max discovers that one cannot please everyone all the time, and that hard choices must be made, feelings sometimes hurt, and strength developed to deal with it all. Eventually, it is this lesson that brings him around to the realization he's just a visitor in this strange and wild domain and that his own patiently and lovingly awaits him at home.