The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is Wes Anderson's fourth feature length film and was released in the U.S. on December 25, 2004. It was written by Anderson and Noah Baumbach. The film stars Bill Murray as eccentric oceanographer Steve Zissou, who seeks to exact revenge on a shark that ate his partner Esteban. Zissou's character is both a parody of and homage to Jacques-Yves Cousteau, to whom the film is dedicated.

Plot

The film details the adventures of the once famed documentarian Steve Zissou as he creates the last film near the end of his career. His recent film about his best friend Estaban's death from a "Jaguar shark" is a flop, and for his next project he is determined to find the creature and destroy it. Steve's crew includes Pelé dos Santos (Seu Jorge), a Brazilian musician who sings translated David Bowie songs, and Klaus Daimler (Willem Dafoe) who is a lovable German second-in-command who views Steve and Estaban as father figures and feels threatened by Ned.

Related Topics:
Documentarian - Jaguar shark - Seu Jorge - Brazil - David Bowie - Willem Dafoe - German

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At a boat party Steve meets his presumed son, Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), who also becomes his financer when Steve's financier bails. He is a polite, innocent and childlike (though it could just be in reflection of Steve's schmuck-like demeanor) southern gentleman whose mother had recently died. Steve is also followed by a reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson, who is a fan of his, and is pregnant with her married boss's child. She eventually falls in love with Ned. The crew sets off on one last mission, facing pirates, financial problems, rescuing a bond company stooge (who is present to make sure Ned's money is spent appropriately) and his successful, suave, rich, and part-gay nemesis Alistair Hennessey (Jeff Goldblum), and reuniting with his wife Eleanor who was once married to Hennessey. But while on look for The Jaguar Shark, the Zissou helicopter crashes injuring Steve and killing Ned. Although it is revealed that Steve is sterile, Steve and Ned are as close as genuine father and son. Steve finally tracks down the shark but decides not to kill it, both because of its beauty and his lack of dynamite. Eleanor is moved by this and falls for Steve again. The finished "film-within-a-film" is a hit, and Steve wins an award and respect.

Related Topics:
Owen Wilson - Southern - Pirates - Bond company - Nemesis - Jeff Goldblum

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