In Wes Anderson’s Movies Jewelry Is More Than An Accessory
It’s part of character development
Today at the Cannes Film Festival, Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme will make its premiere. The movie opens in limited release in the United States on May 30. As a longtime stan of the director’s work, I’ve had these dates marked on my calendar since they were announced some time ago.
I love all the run up to an Anderson production. I dive into the thought pieces surrounding his layered work. I eat up the reviews of his cinematic signatures—center-frame camera work, precise prop placement, specific color palettes and general air of melancholy. With each film, the analysis of stories set in yesteryear that intersect with modern headlines becomes more interesting.
In all the reviews I’ve read over the years, however, I have never come across an analysis of the jewelry in the productions. Granted it is probably too minor a detail for most, but it is a thread. In the auteur’s work, jewelry has functioned as a leitmotif on several occasions. The trailer for The Phoenician Scheme shows that jewelry continues to play a role with Sister Liesl’s rosary and Zsa Zsa’s perfect pinky ring.
In celebration of the new movie, I decided to fill this jewelry gap and take a look back at the best of the baubles in Anderson’s work.
Overall, the jewels are, of course, perfectly chosen. They are often symbolic and sweet handmade tokens of affection. But there are also stylish and even edgy designs.
Cast of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou including Eleanor Zissou (Angelica Houston) wearing turquoise necklaces and Native American turquoise and silver bracelets and Jane (Cate Blanchett) who has on the sand dollar necklace, but it is mainly obscured.
In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Anderson's adventure film mainly set in Italy, he makes DIY jewelry part of the flirtation between Ned (Owen Wilson) and Jane (Cate Blanchett). Ned gives Jane a sand dollar from the beach he has strung on a necklace composed of peppermint dental floss.
Life Aquatic also features the most impressive jewelry in any of the director’s films. Angelica Houston, who plays Eleanor Zissou, also known as "the brains behind Team Zissou," comes from money, a fact hinted at by her extravagant jewels.
When the film was released, the actress explained to Variety, “[Costume designer Milena Canonero] was of the idea, and I concurred, that Eleanor was a bit of an underwater creature and that my jewelry and everything I wore would some way relate to the sea.”
The link to the sea was often translated into jewelry with materials in the many colors of the ocean. Houston wears lots of Native American turquoise. Styles include chunky bracelets, rings and bead necklaces.
She has several substantial silver fish pendants. There is also a watery color bold bead necklace the actress sports with a crème-colored suit.
Houston puts on the two most spectacular jewels at the movie premieres bookending The Life Aquatic. Both come from the Italian designer Marta Marzotto. The first piece (seen in the photo at top) is described by Variety has having “paperweight sized emeralds.”
As much as I would like this to be true, I doubt it. I think the necklace might be made of light emerald colored glass or acrylic. Marzotto was known as a costume jewelry designer although she did work with precious materials on occasion. Her work is rare and difficult to find today in the United States. Whatever the material is in the necklace worn by Houston, it exemplifies modern Italian jewelry at its best. There is an ease and impact to the look.
At the end of the film, Houston wears several Italian horns on a neck wire and coordinated bracelets, all by Marta Marzotto. Again, I don’t know if the coral is authentic, but it looks fantastic.
The Italian horn motif in the necklace is a historic symbol of protection and makes perfect sense for the end of the film after all Steve Zissou and the team has been through.
In The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) presents his protégée’s true-love Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) with a light blue ribbon necklace suspending a porcelain pendant with the Society of Crossed Keys motif, a symbol of concierges.
She wears the jewel, which is essentially another DIY piece, through the rest of the film and it turns up again on her lover later in life.
The across-the-finger skull rings the evil Jopling (Willem Dafoe) wears on both hands were created by the multi-talented jewelry designer Waris Ahluwalia who has a cameo in the production.
Waris also had roles in The Life Aquatic and The Darjeeling Limited (2007).
In the story of young love, Moonrise Kingdom (2012), the orphan Sam (Jared Gilman) makes a DIY scarab and fishhook earrings for his girlfriend Suzy (Kara Hayward). In order for her to be able to wear them, Sam has to pierce Suzy’s ears which is at once dramatic, hilarious and sweet.
Another jewel that tells a backstory is a costume pearl and gold tone grape brooch pinned to Sam’s Khaki Scout uniform. It belonged to his deceased mother and is as poignant as any plot point in a Wes Anderson production.
Golden Links:
The Jewelry Designer Reimagining Renaissance Accessories for the Met featured in T Magazine.