Four Short Films by Wes Anderson Based on Stories by Roald Dahl
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
★★★★
You would think that characters speaking directly to the audience seemingly without taking a breath for more than thirty minutes straight would be exhausting, but instead, its invigorating. Somehow Wes Anderson has made something that is completely in his style but uses it in a new way to make Roald Dahl's short story completely pop. Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley are flawless in their delivery and I was amazed that a human being is capable of memorizing so many lines in one take. Once again Wes Anderson reminds me that he's smarter than me, and once again I'm completely fine with that.
The Rat Catcher
★★★
Despite Ralph Fiennes clearly having a lot of fun in The Rat Catcher, this Wes Anderson short didn't have as much substance as the other Roald Dahl's adaptations. I'm not quite sure why we didn't see the ferret and the mouse when we see the sewer rat later on. I hope that Netflix viewers don't choose to watch this one first because they might not be as inclined to watch the other three.
The Swan
★★★★★
I was really touched with the weight and gravitas of The Swan. It's a beautiful folklore that really comes to life with Wes Anderson's camera work and a beautiful delivery from Rupert Friend. I'm completely unfamiliar with Friend's other work and I thought he was a marvel in this short. The Swan is the more serious of the four Wes Anderson shorts, but it wins for being the most poetic and most personal.
Poison
★★★★
I enjoyed seeing Wes Anderson tinker with suspense in Poison. He gets to play Hitchcock for one of the first times in his career as he toys with the audience with the presence of a venomous snake that we are unable to see. The setup is almost so good that the ultimate conclusion is a let down, but once again he uses the talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes perfectly as he transitions the different characters through various set pieces seamlessly.
