On September 27th, Netflix released 4 new short films directed by Wes Anderson: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison. The stories are adaptations of works from Roald Dahl, the British writer who published Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr. Fox – which has already been produced by Anderson.
Wes Anderson is one of the greatests new directors in the cinematographic scene. With a unique way of adapting stories for the big screen, Anderson brings his own personality and his visual footprint to his movies. But it is not just a colorful and beautiful universe. The plots are gratefully written, with a singular way of leading narratives and featured casts – one of Wes’ exceptional marks.
And that’s what we have seen on these new Netflix’s productions. Starry actors, such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes – who represented the narrator, Roald Dahl himself – brought life to the characters of each one of the short films. The plots are focused on reflections about bullying, violence, honesty, spirituality and prejudice in the 20th century. And that was the first time that Anderson skipped theaters to go straight to a streaming platform, achieving a big audience with his cinematic world.
In fact, Wes Anderson’s short stories are not going to conquer all the types of movie lovers. His approach for these new pieces – such as most of his movies – flirt with theatrical productions and have a slower rhythm than mainstream masterpieces. The scenarios are mobile, the actors take turns in smaller roles and speak directly to the camera and the mood goes straight to Anderson’s fan expectations.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
During the forty minutes of this short film, we get in touch with the story of Henry Sugar, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Sugar is a millionaire who has the sole purpose of getting even more rich. In this context, he comes across the story of a mysterious Kashmiri circus man (Ben Kingsley) who learned to see without opening his eyes. Then, Henry strives to learn such a skill by spirituality to cheat at casino games.
Anderson not only adapted Dahl’s work, but was practically faithful to almost every word in the book. The story is told in a playful way and that captivates the viewer to delve into the incredible story of Henry Sugar. Cumberbatch’s performance is remarkable, but it’s impossible not to mention Kingsley’s greatness on screen.
Rate: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Swan
The Swan was definitely the most sensible piece by Wes Anderson to Netflix. The plot revolves around a traumatic episode faced by the young Peter Watson, and is narrated by Rupert Friend – Peter in his adult age. This bullying event was a milestone – in the most negative way possible – in Peter’s life. He was terrorized by the armed bullies Ernie and Raymond to face horrible situations. The swan wings were truthful symbols of overcoming fear and terror.
Even with only 17 minutes, the story is psychologically dense. It is almost impossible not to feel Peter’s fear in this revolting episode. In this piece, Anderson’s direction is poetic and transforms such suffering into a sensitive narrative, worthy of identification.
Rate: ⭐⭐⭐.5
Poison
Poison is about a British man, Harry Pope (Benedict Cumberbatch), who was kept motionless by the presence of an ultra-poisonous snake – a krait – in his bed. He can’t move because the snake can attack him at any moment. So, Cumberbatch can perfectly show to the public the excruciating panic of being motionless with the imminence of death.
Again, Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley did a great acting job. Patel was the narrator that talks to the audience, but is also in the scene. And Kingsley was the doctor who was trying to save Harry’s life.
This piece was full of deep meanings. The poison that kept Pope moveless can be interpreted as the prejudice that he spilled against his doctor, due to his origins. How can racism and xenophobia limit someone’s life? Harry Pope’s story proves that it can limit a lot!
Rate: ⭐⭐⭐.5
The Rat Catcher
This piece was based on a character that Roald Dahl had met in the early 1940s, when he lived in Wisteria Cottage, in Amersham: the rat catcher. Indeed, the main point of this short film is Ralph Fiennes’ performance – who is also characterized with rat features. The story is about this weird character who is responsible for dealing with what must be exterminated from society.
In fact, for me, this one is Anderson’s least appealing piece for Netflix. The narrative is a bit stuck on the events itself and the plot can not be that comfortable to watch. It was a not so lucky attempt at a thriller mixing Wes and Dahl’s styles.
Rate:⭐⭐⭐
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The article above was edited by Juliana Sanches.
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