Cameron Crowe doesn't make films very often, choosing to slowly hone his visions rather than rush them into production, but when he does they usually pretty darn good. Say Anything is considered a classic (although I've yet to see it), Jerry McGuire is one of my favorite rom-com/dramedys ever, Vanilla Sky is a brilliant science fiction piece, Almost Famous was great enough to reconsider the works of Elton John (amazing, I know!) and Elizabethtown was almost wonderful except for the tragic casting of Orlando Bloom in the lead.
It's taken 7 years for Crowe to figure out his next step but he's now back with We Bought A Zoo which is his best and most 'Cameron Crowe-y' story in years.The basis for the plot is much like this award seasons The Descendants in that it's about a father struggling to bring up his two children after his wife has become ill and died. Unlike George Clooney's well received drama which was quite quirky and subtle, Crowe goes straight for the sentiment in a moving and amusing, dramatic comedy.
Crowe's style is very emotionally manipulating. His exceptional choice of songs (from artists like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Temple Of The Dog), a beautifully haunting score (from Sigur Ros's Jonsi), powerful universal themes (overcoming loss, loneliness, finding purpose, discovering inner courage) and iconic, quotable dialogue ("sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage" is this movies "you complete me") will connect with many, although not with all. Fortunately, these techniques to highlight emotion are thankfully undercut by very naturalistic performances from the cast, an unshowy directoral style, wonderful injections of humour when things are too intense and an strong understanding that restraint actually delivers a greater emotional whack instead of Spielberg levels of hugging, kissing and crying.
A grounded and laid back Matt Damon leads a pitch perfect cast that includes Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Hayden Church, Angus MacFayden, Patrick Fugit, Ellie Fanning and 7 year old Maggie Elizabeth Jones as the most endearing moppet the movies have seen since Drew Barrymore in E.T. There's no Orlando sized miscasting this time round proving that digitally inserting Damon into all of Bloom's scenes could technically save that film.
It has to be said I loved We Bought A Zoo. There's a delicate balance between hauntingly poetic and schmaltz, and 95% of the time Cameron Crowe stays on the appropriate side of line between the two with confidence, leading to a satisfying blend of poignant drama and warm, light comedy. If that's not to your taste, you'd better stick to colder visionaries like Kubrick and Fincher.
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