Great Character: Steve Zissou (“The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”)

This month’s theme: Wes Anderson characters. Today: Steve Zissou from the 2004 movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach.

For Bill Murray’s third consecutive foray into the stimulating stylized world of Wes Anderson movies, his contribution rose above a supporting cast member to completely taking the lead, which was written specifically for him. This provided actor Murray and director Anderson almost two hours to deep sea dive into deadpan humor with the 2004 adventure comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

The environment of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is decorated with homages to the world famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau; such as Cousteau’s minesweeper ship named the “Calypso” as inspiration for Steve Zissou’s similar sea vessel the “Belafonte” being named after Calypso singer Harry Belafonte. Much like Steve Zissou, Jacques Cousteau also submitted aquatic films to film festivals, winning the prestigious Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956 for The Silent World, adapted from Cousteau’s adventure book of the same name and co-produced with Louis Malle.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou from IMDB:

With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

Steve Zissou is drowning in a midlife crisis and a “mid-wife crisis,” his career is sinking and the recent tragic death of his longtime sea mate Esteban (Seymour Cassel) during a shark attack has made it very difficult for Steve to stay afloat. Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach’s screenplay immediately puts the disillusioned Zissou in a place that he is not emotionally equipped to cater to — a public screening of his latest film, featuring the now deceased Esteban.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KMrHWfgzdU

Zissou’s fragile state bubbles up to the surface in the form of defensive displays of insecurity and a desire to stretch his past glory as far as he can to overcompensate for his diminished public perception.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcUWE2TrSR0

The humor embedded in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou stems from the various lengths Steve is willing to go to appear in control of his life. Amidst an ongoing struggle to finance his oceanographic adventure, Zissou’s misery is compounded by what he perceives to be a general lack of real companionship. He romantically desires the much younger reporter Jane, but her rebuffs offend him.

STEVE ZISSOU: You really think it’s cool for you to hit the sauce with a bun in the oven?

Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), the possible son that he never knew, or wanted for that matter, is looking to make a connection with Steve, and Jane.

STEVE ZISSOU: (to Ned) You never say, “I’m gonna fight you, Steve.” You just smile and act natural, and then you sucker-punch him.

Much of the crew on Steve’s aging analogue ship seem to be frustrated with his seasick decision-making process that isn’t above blatantly stealing from the competition and putting everyone in danger.

STEVE ZISSOU: I know, honey. Look at the map. We go your way, that’s about four inches. We go my way, it’s an inch and a half. You wanna pay for the extra gas?

Steve is not one to apologize, even when his reckless and desperate antics turn into life and death situations, one of which involves pirates.

STEVE ZISSOU: Don’t point that gun at him, he’s an unpaid intern.

Zissou’s self-gratifying impulses, lack of humbleness and inflated yet fragile ego threaten to keep his most vital priorities out of sync with everyone around him.

STEVE ZISSOU: (Pulls Ned Plimpton aside to speak with him in private) Ned, next time you have a brilliant idea, whisper it to me first. Otherwise I look sort of like a Day-Dream-Johnny, you know.

Steve Zissou’s mission statement is to exact revenge against the shark that bit through his best buddy, but his internal journey also emerges: to get out of his self-conscience mode that has fueled jealousy that includes the Ned and Jane affair, and his envy towards Eleanor’s ex-husband and more successful water explorer — Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum).

Steve may work in a dated vacuum of nostalgia that is wildly resistant to change, but this seems to be how he copes with his new memories failing to live up to his past ones. If he upgraded to all the sleek and shiny contemporary technology that other crews like Hennessey’s have at their disposal, it may serve as a reminder that the world has swum past Steve.

The last resort to rise out of his woes and rebuild his self-worth seems to be in attempting to care for people other than himself — not easy for a man this stubborn. But with a rescue mission or two, maybe Zissou can transform that rusted anchor that is weighing him down into a life preserver.

For his treasure chest of bluntly entertaining responses, his struggle to adapt to change and his red cap, aqua blue dress code and customized Adidas — Steve Zissou is a GREAT CHARACTER among the many Wes Anderson film fables.

Many stories feature Protagonists who are ‘reluctant heroes’ and Joseph Campbell had an explanation for that:

The call to adventure is about transformation and that’s terrifying.
The Hero has to confront fear.
Will the Hero survive?
Will they change for the Good or the Bad?

The prospect of change can be ‘terrifying,’ thus Zissou’s attachment to the past. But in movies, where metamorphosis almost always comes into play, change is often inevitable… even underwater.

Thank you, Jason, for this post. Please hit Reply and join us in comments to discuss The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

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