5. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

i really don't understand why more people don't love this movie? Wes Anderson is one of my favourite directors and this film really highlights everything that is special about Bill's acting and Wes's writing. Wes actually wrote the movie with Bill Murray in mind - and you can totally tell.
 

Bill plays Steve Zissou, a Jacques Cousteau-like oceanographer/documentary-filmmaker desperate to film, find, and kill (using dynamite) the mysterious Jaguar Shark that ate ("chewed") his best friend, Esteban. Bill delivers some of his best subtle moments in this movie, and one has to really pay attention to every shot and line because there are SO many bloody great ones. for example, when at the film festival in Italy (presenting part I of the Steve Zissou movie, The Life Aquatic), there's old footage of Steve with his arm around Esteban - Steve gives Estaban this little kiss on his bald head - it's so fast and cute (and i wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't scripted). or when Steve meets his  sweet maybe-son Ned (Owen Wilson), he excuses himself from their conversation to go smoke a joint and comes back to where they left off - buzzed.

i also love the shot of Bill feeding a fish to a killer whale, which appears during a montage on Zissou's island. or when he tests out the special edition Team Zissou Adidas sneakers? or, holy god, when Steve walks in on his crew talking sh-t about him and all you hear is a faint little squeak (from his sneakers) and everyone turns around to find him standing in the door. it's so subtle that it's easy to miss if you're not really paying attention. or when Steve and Ned are at the hotel and Steve overhears a group of Italian men trash-talking him and his earring - Steve goes outside with Ned and says that his feelings are hurt. defeated, he takes out his earring and throws it away. it's so great how Ned immediately goes to pick it up, hands it back to Steve who just puts it back in his ear.

i love the fact that in this film Wes uses Italy as his backdrop - apparently he was going through an "Italian phase" at the time and chose to shoot a lot of the movie at the Cinecitta' studio in Rome (where my grandfather used to work - HOLLA!).

the cast in this film is PERFECT and everyone in Team Zissou brings something amazing to it. even the minor characters contribute a little something wonderful, like Vikram, the team's Sikh cameraman who was "born on the Ganges", and Anne Marie, his randomly topless assistant. and the "unpaid interns" working for a college credit are silent but great - it's a fantastic scene when an angry Steve tells them that they're all getting "incompletes" after they decide to leave the internship after being taken hostage and almost murdered by Filipino pirates. Anjelica Huston plays Steve's wife, Eleanor - "the brains behind Team Zissou." i love Anjelica Huston, and she's so brilliant in this. every scene with her and Bill, or with her and Alistair Hennessey (played by Jeff Goldblum), who is Eleanor's ex-husband and Steve's nemesis, is pure GOLD. if possible, her delivery is more deadpan in this than Bill's. and the incredible Cate Blanchett plays Jane, a pregnant journalist writing a cover-story about Steve (who develops a crush on her). but she's not interested in Steve - she starts up a romance with Ned. and when Steve finds out, he's furious, and feels betrayed since he had invited Ned to be part of the Team (despite the fact that he's actually an airplane pilot and "not even a strong swimmer") - nevertheless, Ned joins Team Zissou, much to Klaus' annoyance (played by Willem Dafoe).

OMG. 

Willem Dafoe is AMAZING in this movie - can we talk about him for a moment please? Klaus is a Steve's lovably number 2 who admires Steve SO much, and becomes completely envious of Steve's relationship with Ned. i love it when he slaps Ned to put him in his place (and to show his authority), but then later when Ned slaps him back because "he owed him one" Klaus starts to cry. another great moment (an Awww moment, actually) is when Team Zissou is having a shoot-out with the Filipino pirates and Steve tells Klaus that he's been promoted from the B-team to the A-team. *fist pump* and i'm sorry, but seeing Bill run around shooting his "glock" at the pirates in a speedo and robe and flip-flops is just too fantastic - we need more scenes like this in Bill Murray movies. and the sequence when the team goes to save the kidnapped "bond company stooge" (Bud Cort) is really fun. 

Wes Anderson is not only a bloody fantastic and imaginative director, but the guy also has a gift for soundtracks. i love how random it is that that one of Team Zissou's members, Pele (Seu Jorge) is a guitarist who plays and sings David Bowie songs throughout the film - in Portuguese. Wes' use of silence is also poignant, like when there is a montage of all the team's activities, and this really upbeat music is playing. Ned gears up and dives in the water, and suddenly the music abruptly stops and we see Ned receiving CPR on the beach. so good. and when the quirky electronica music is piped into the diver's helmets and Bill does that little dance in his diving suit? please. it's one of my favourite Bill movie-moments ever.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go on an overnight drunk, and in ten days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome." Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou