4. ‘Eagle vs Shark’ (2007)
Personally, I found Waititi’s debut feature “Eagle vs Shark” to be underwhelming — at times, it even feels like a wannabe Wes Anderson flick — and was let down by its sluggish/uneven pacing. There are definitely moments where it seemed to feel like a heavily-inspired cross between my favourite romantic drama (“Punch Drunk Love”) and my favourite lonely island flick (“Hot Rod”) with a hint of “Flight of the Conchords.”But what actually worked for me a is that the film addresses the pertinent topic of male mental health. What started out as an offbeat geeky, quirky rom-com eventually turned into a reality check on the dangers of letting male fragility go unchecked. It’s probably the main reasons as to why it still makes my list (albeit a tad lower in positioning).
“Eagle vs Shark” is centered around an odd duo of misfits: Lily, who works at a burger joint and Jarrod a nerdy man-child with suicidal tendencies. Both are cast aside by almost everyone else around them and bond over video games and moles (the facial feature, not the animal). They only have each other to find comfort and acceptance in; but during a trip to Jarrod’s hometown, Lily discovers a shocking secret that might make her view her new boyfriend differently. It turns out Jarrod and his equally depressed dad are still coping with the death of Jarrod’s brother Gordon, who we later find out took a rather unexpected and extreme step. His dad copes by living in the past while Jarrod copes via a false sense of machismo as he has mostly been viewed as the ‘lesser brother/son’ compared to Gordon, who was a multi-talented individual.
Classic New Zealand Humor
And while the movie may be far from perfect, it’s definitely also far from forgettable. It’s got quite a lot of quotable one liners, classic New Zealand humour, quirky stop motion sequences, and heartfelt character interactions. One towards the end particularly stayed with me wherein the empathetic Lily resolves to watch a depressed Jarrod like a hawk (or an eagle?) and keeps him under a strict suicide watch. This scene perfectly sums up why I felt the need to root for Lily’s happiness throughout and also showcases her selfless and undying love for a man who is still conflicted and burdened by his own emotions and insecurities. It also showcases the change that just a single person can bring into a mentally disturbed individual’s life by showing genuine empathy, warmth, and support.
Also, while initially I wasn’t as invested in the main characters and their relationship as much as I should have been due to underwritten character motivations, as the movie progressed, I couldn’t help but root for Lily due to Loren Taylor”s earnest performance. This movie totally belongs to this charming but gullible young lady and Taylor (who also shares a co-writing credit with Waititi) is terrific with her lopsided but warm smile, her soft but straightforward tone and delivers a very captivating performance. Jemaine Clement does a good job being as deadpan as possible as Jarrod who’s a bit of a cold-hearted wannabe Chuck Norris, but I do wish the character had a lot more personality than just these central traits. The supporting cast too do justice to their characters, so the film’s earnest performances and direction more than make up for its shortcomings.
Cute and Clumsy — but Worth a Shot
Considering that this was the debut of a then-newcomer who was still dipping his toes into the craft and probably only had experience writing scripts for 11-17 minute long short films up until then (although Waititi really found his groove and perfected his style of filmmaking with “Boy” the second time around). Considering that I’m going to be very biased towards Taika anyway, I’m even keen on brushing aside most of those aforementioned flaws. Regardless of flaws, what mattered to me is that this movie conveyed a strong message on not letting oneself be dictated by the dreams of a highly-judgmental parent, and about not putting oneself down due to the successes of their peers. So if you don’t mind cute, clumsy, and only slightly cliched character-driven romances, then “Eagle vs Shark” is worth a shot.
