Eagle Vs Shark - Understanding and Empathy
Taika Waititi is my favourite director of all time, he has a style and a voice that I find to be essentially what I love in filmmaking. It still blows my mind how big he has gotten over the last few years, he is working on his second Marvel film and after directing an episode of the Mandalorian is going on to his own solo Star Wars film. That makes it fascinating to revisit his debut film 'Eagle Vs Shark' which he co-wrote with Loren Taylor which I consider to be a vastly underrated and underappreciated film, it has all the problems that most debut films have but there is an infectious heart and soul to this film that I think makes it really special. A lot of people dislike the film for being basically a parody of what people think of 'indie' films and that is very fair, in retrospect, these cutesy patterns have become an exhausting part of modern indie films. I personally think Waititi uses these little indie staples as a way to improve on his beautiful writing style, they add to his signature ability to write human beings with this brutal honesty. It is quite a cold, inaccessible film in areas, he doesn't make it easy to get invested in these people but that is completely intentional, the indie staples hide a really quite depressing story about grief and patience in a way that I think is incredibly intentional. It is a delight of a film, a confident and emotional experience that values its characters above anything else, I think it rewards attention and understanding in a way Waititi can only do.
I dont really think this film is a romance film, it may centre around a story about a couple, but it is not a cosy nice relationship. In fact, in many ways we never feel like this relationship is healthy at all, I think we have become accustomed to seeing cutesy relationships like this as flawless, but Waititi makes a strong point that both of these people are messy and at odds. Lily is an awkward and shy Fast Food worker, who lives with her brother as they have grown together after the death of their parents, she is incredibly shy and feels alienated in the world around her. Jarrod is an arrogant, selfish and mess of a person, the death of his brother and struggling relationship with his father has caused him to consistently try to be the centre of attention and use the tragedy as a way to excuse any mistake or irrational behaviour. This is not how we are introduced to these characters, it is one of my favourite things about Waititi is that the climax to most of his films is when the audience finds out a crucial part about these characters that helps them understand them. It makes his films really rewarding to watch, they unravel and the comedic traits of these characters become much more tragic elements as more information becomes clear, I absolutely love this style and I think he perfects it perfectly in his debut. It manages to create comedy and tragedy from essentially the same scenes, Waititi paints this beautiful picture of awkward and messy people and then actually spends the majority of the time opening up and developing the reasons as to why they are this way. he doesn't do it explicitly, he can say a lot from a look and an interaction between characters and its a film that succeeds in listening to these characters as human beings.
There is this big problem with the film that a lot of people take issue with, we never get that moment where Jarrod explicitly owns up to his flaws and faces them. It creates this really tough experience as he seems to just repeat the same patterns and in the end, we never get that cathartic experience of seeing him confront his issues. I mostly think this is deliberate, it is far too convenient and easy for him to, at the end of this film, be completely changed and a better person when that is simply not how people work. I have a very real love for how Waititi writes characters as messy and unpredictable, there never is a simple answer to why people are the way they are and change doesn't come immediately, it takes time and understanding. Often his narratives revolve around two people coming to terms and understanding each other (Boy/ His Father, Hector/ Ricky, Jojo/ Elsa) and that is essentially what the whole film is based around, it is an Eagle vs a Shark. Lily falls in love with Jarrod because he is confident and bold, she falls head over heels because she hasn't really had a real relationship, his arrogance comes off as confidence which is something she doesn't have and that is why she essentially follows him blindly. She is still somewhat grieving, living with her brother and consistently facing barriers in her life but she finds someone who says they are grieving and broken and instantly falls for him. I love how much we see Lily grow throughout, she gains confidence as she spends time with this family and gains independence and introspection, she grows to realise Jarrod is arrogant and selfish and then grows to understand he is hurt and acting out. She shows a tremendous amount of empathy and that is something that instantly makes me love a character, the process of her learning this empathy are some of the strongest elements of the film. Loren Taylor is amazing in this role, her cutesy awkward persona is hilarious and endearing but as she grows Taylor gets to really show her skill at painting a flawed and growing character.
Jarrod is an essentially unlikeable character, he makes or breaks the film for a lot of people and I understand why people would struggle with his obtuse arrogant persona. I have known a few Jarrod's in my time so the comedy aspects work brilliantly, lines such as 'I'm so complicated!' crack me up as we have all seen people obsessed with their own complexity. Jermaine Clement does an incredible job at portraying this 20-something unlikable idiot, he paints this beautiful superiority complex as he has to consistently be the height of attention at all times. He is, of course, the champion of a video game tournament that he is hosting, he essentially uses Lily as a way to show off to his family and if anybody points this out he acts out claiming he is 'damaged' as an excuse for his actions. It is a really tricky character to write, he is clearly suffering from a broken relationship with his father and the death of his brother but he has no ounce of introspection or self-awareness resulting in this arrogant character you can't help but hate yet understand. Waititi builds out his character through a brilliant supporting cast, his father (Brian Sergent) is this depressed man who has secluded himself from the world over the death of his son and can't even face giving his other children any attention. They all build on this depressing picture of a broken family but as Lily gets to know them they grow closer and it is really touching to watch these characters grow due to our protagonist.
It is quite a melancholy film, whilst also managing to be absolutely hilarious. There are so many brilliant moments of Kiwi awkwardness that Waititi just knows how to perfect and there are so many wonderful visual gags that often feel unreal and bizarre but wonderfully entertaining. I think Waititi really finds his writing style here but his directing style is also really well established and honestly a bit inconsistent. I like how he uses little moments that break reality in a very human story, whether it be a small stop motion animated segment or use of a loud out of place piece of score or even a not so subtle bit of symbolism. Maybe it isn't needed and maybe it feels a bit jarring but I kind of really enjoy these little moments, I think they fill out this quite melancholy and sad story with lovely little moments of levity even if they are often on the nose and a bit too cutesy. I think his writing is strong enough that he doesn't need to stuff in so much style because he has the substance in his characters, we dont need revolutionary set pieces or homages to other films because I am happy with the little moments between these characters.
'Eagle Vs Shark' is well worth your time. It is quite a tough film to talk about as Waititi is still finding his feet as a director. I admire the confidence and the attention to character in this film above anything else, I dont think Waititi holds back and if anything his debut films is admirably confident. Understanding and empathy is very rarely the front and centre of most plots, it is honestly what makes me love Waititi more than any other director, it is refreshing to have a film promoting empathy rather than cynicism. Now more than ever I think it pays to treat people with respect and understand them as people before making a judgment, what they have been through builds them as a person and I think it is important to keep that in mind. Stay safe out there and love each other.
Thanks for reading!