Wes Anderson is a filmmaker who challenges the traditional use of color theory in movies. Unlike most filmmakers who utilize bright and saturated colors for a happy tone and dark and desaturated colors for a more grounded tone, Anderson blurs the lines between joy and darkness. On the surface, his movies look vivid and vibrant, but the colors are often at odds with the subject matter, creating a unique and bipolar tone that is both humorous and dark.
Anderson’s use of colors can be seen in “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” where despite being set in a world filled with death and war, the world is still filled with vivid colors. This whimsy is a signature of Anderson’s films, which are often told from a childlike perspective and explore childhood traumas against the backdrop of whimsical, colorful worlds.
Anderson’s characters are often connected to a single color, such as red, which is seen in “The Life Aquatic,” “The Darjeeling Limited,” “Rushmore,” and “The Royal Tannenbaums.” In these films, characters who wear red often have a past trauma that they are trying to overcome. For example, Chaz in “The Royal Tannenbaums” wears a red tracksuit and is in a state of arrested development due to the trauma of his father leaving and his wife’s death. As a result of these past traumas, Chaz is overprotective and stuck in a state of arrested development, appearing childlike throughout the film. He only sheds his signature red when his opportunity to reconcile with his father has passed.
In Anderson’s films, the themes of darkness and humor are often intertwined. In the funeral scene from “The Darjeeling Limited,” a young boy has died, but the scene is punctuated by bright whites and golds, creating a stark contrast to the next scene where the brothers attend their father’s funeral dressed in black. This contrast forces the audience to reconcile the darkness with the humor and light.
Overall, Anderson’s unique use of colors and his exploration of serious subject matter against the backdrop of whimsical, colorful worlds creates a unique experience for the audience and challenges traditional uses of color in movies.
