HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016)
Directed by Taika Waititi
Defender Films, 101 minutes, PG-13
* * * *
The late Roger Ebert once faced the questions
every critic is asked at some point: Do
you really think people listen to you? Do critics matter at all? In a
moment of candor and insight Ebert admitted that in most cases his impact was
minimal. How, after all, can a single voice stand against the Hollywood Hype
Machine? In the case of blockbusters, people will go see the latest installment
of Dumb and Dumber even if a critic
declares it idiotic. Where critics matter is when they expose the public to
wonders that fly under the radar screen and would otherwise be overlooked.
In that spirit, let me give four Eberts to
the New Zealand film Hunt for the
Wilderpeople. It’s not pathbreaking, there are no Oscar-worthy performances,
and, truth be told, it’s pretty silly in a lot of places. In the hands of a
hack director, in fact, it would be lightweight fluff. Luckily, Taika Waititi is
no hack; Hunt for the Wilderpeople is
an absolute delight that will make you smile from start to finish. If you’re a
fan of the Kiwi band Flight of the Conchords you already know that few people
on the planet do kooky as well as New Zealanders, and Waititi’s film hums to
that groove. He sets the tone with a self-deprecating introduction to the movie
that strays into absurdity, likes what it sees, and stays there. (Later he does
an amusing cameo turn as a minister.)
Hunt for the Wilderpeople centers on a
pudgy Maori foster child, Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). Ricky is childcare
caseworker Paula’s (Rachel House) worst nightmare. He's the incorrigible kid
who washes out of every placement she makes. Paula has come to see him as the
spawn of Satan, though Ricky’s really very smart, has a low tolerance for faux
sweetness, and knows exactly which buttons to push. The action begins when
Paula places Ricky with an older couple, Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and Hector (Sam
Neill), who have a hardscrabble farm in the Coromandel boondocks. Bella is sweet
as well, but also tough as nails, while menacing, scowling “Hec” wants nothing
to do with Ricky—and he’s certainly not buying any of Ricky’s Auckland street
thug swagger. This triangle is played out with a combination of poignancy and
hilarity.
The film’s namesake hunt for the wilderpeople
(pronounced will-der-people) begins
when tragedy throws Ricky and Hec together for a six-month flight from Paula,
who seeks to place Ricky in “juvie” (juvenile detention center). The film is,
in essence, a combination manhunt/ caper film with Paula cast as a wackier
version of The Fugitive’s Detective
Gerard (fused with Nurse Ratched), except she’s seen so many bad American cop
movies she's slightly unhinged. Good luck finding Hec in the “bush;” he doesn’t
play survivalist, he is one. Enjoy
hearty surrealistic laughs as our unlikely comrades negotiate the bush and
encounter three of the most inept bounty hunters in history, not to mention the
stark raving mad Psycho Sam (Rhys Darby).
New Zealanders generally have low tolerance
for pretense, egotism, or officiousness. Waititi has a field day satirizing formulaic
religion, by-the-numbers bureaucracy, blow-dry TV blowhards, New Zealand
“bloke” culture, and American-style machismo. The structure and vibe of
Waititi’s film resembles Wes Anderson’s Moonrise
Kingdom, but it’s far wittier and it avoids the slapdash sloppiness that made
Anderson’s film feel incomplete. The roly-poly Julian Dennison is exceedingly
winning—perhaps the most affecting young actor out of New Zealand since Keisha
Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider (2002).
Sam Neill is, as he always has been, solid and malleable. Neill always makes us
believe in his character, as he does with Jeremiah Johnson-like Hec. (Contrary
to popular misconception, Sam Neill is a New Zealander, not an Australian.) As
noted, House is suitably intense and demented, which makes her character fodder
for lampoon. And let’s also give a shout-out for the New Zealand landscape, a
character in its own right.
See this film—it’s too marvelous to miss.
Then thank your faithful critic.
Rob Weir
Click here to hear Waititi explain some New
Zealand slang. You’ll instantly see his wackiness.
Want more NZ slang? Click here.
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