The Rat Catcher

"The Rat Catcher" is the latest addition to Netflix's Roald Dahl collection, offering a delightful tribute to Dahl's peculiar storytelling. Narrated by Richard Ayoade and featuring performances by Ralph Fiennes and Rupert Friend, the story follows the enigmatic Rat Man's arrival in a quaint village to deal with a rat problem. Wes Anderson's distinctive style elevates the narrative, with the first half showcasing his signature filmmaking techniques. However, it's the second half where Anderson's creative use of lighting, shadows, and animation truly shines. Inspired by a Dahl short story, the film captures his unique storytelling style and concludes with an intriguingly ambiguous ending. "The Rat Catcher" is a captivating 15-minute short that keeps viewers engaged and offers a fresh perspective on liquorice. It's a must-watch for fans of Dahl's whimsical tales and Anderson's cinematic artistry.

...and yeah, I'm glad I did. At 1.25x the speed, the experience was worth the 17 minutes. Happy customer here.

Sorry that I no longer buy Wes Anderson's seemingly-genuine tricks. Life Aquatic was great but anything other than that, I could live without.

As for this one: Yep, there's artistic value in his approach. But so what? Any film-tv student can do this much. Problem is, you need a pumped-up name in order have your simple solutions be valued. It takes Wes Anderson to propose such experimental shorts to whoever is gonna be in on them. And yeah, the result is satisfactory.

The cast works and I believe Roald Dahl would be happy with the outcome had he been around to see how miserably certain other adaptations do.

The Ratcatcher lacks the emotional weight of the other Roald Dahl shorts but it remains a beautifully crafted short film that contrasts its visual beauty with a generally creepy nature and some unexpectedly violent imagery in its closing moments.

Making up for being underutilised in Henry Sugar, Richard Ayoade gets so much more here as the narrator and fulfils the missed potential. Between his funny yet off-putting Ratcatcher and once again closing the short as Dahl himself, Ralph Fiennes shows his incredible versatility.

Wes Anderson continues to craft beautiful worlds and briefly returns to his stop motion skills. As with Poison, he also continues to break some new ground with these, using his usual style to showcase some impressive horror sensibilities.

The local rat-catcher (Ralph Fiennes), who bears a disquieting resemblance to his prey, is engaged to extirpate a minor infestation of the creatures. Wes Anderson's spin on the eponymous Roald Dahl short story is quite fun (in a grim way) as the resourceful Rat Man explains his various highly unpleasant methods of dispatching his clever quarry. His final demonstration of Homo's sanguineous dominance over Rattus, although largely unseen, is brutally amusing (and sadly not unprecedented considering some of the revolting blood-sports to which animals have been sacrificed in the not-so-distant past). Attention to detail may make the final lines less cryptic. Of Wes Anderson's four recent Roald Dahl inspired short films, this was my favorite.

'The Rat Catcher (2023)' is probably the weakest of Wes Anderson's four short Roald Dahl adaptations, primarily because it kind of feels as though it's lacking a point. In a way, it's a quirky character study of its eponymous rodent trapper, who becomes creepier and creepier as the piece progresses, as seen through the bemused eyes of the people who hire him. Making use of similar stage play techniques to 'The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar (2023)' but being far less elaborate, the picture unfolds in the same hyper-concentrated from of its director's style as the other entries in its pseudo series. The narration comes quickly and without pause, the characters often look dead down the barrel of the lens and, save for a brief stop-motion segment, the effects and props are all entirely imaginary. It's a distinct aesthetic, for sure, and it does work to catch your eye. Just under twenty minutes also feels like a more suitable runtime for this type of affair, so the flick manages to hold your attention throughout while never feeling too overwhelming. Ralph Fiennes' performance as the rat-like rat catcher is really enjoyable, as is Rupert Friend's brief stint as a rat. Like I said before, though, there just doesn't seem to be all that much to the story. It ends on an entertaining punchline but is far more about its vibes than its narrative. Still, it's a solid effort overall that's definitely distinct.