Dropping onto Netflix today, is the short film The Rat Catcher. The movie – written and directed by Wes Anderson – is based on the Roald Dahl story of the same name and is the third entry in Anderson’s collection of short film adaptations, following hot on the heels of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and The Swan.
Starring Ralph Fiennes, Rupert Friend, and Richard Ayoade, The Rat Catcher is a 17-minute short which tells the story of two men who call upon the services of a rat catcher, to deal with an infestation in their town. When the catcher arrives he attempts to deal with the problem, while highlighting his own quirks and eccentricities along the way.
Continuing the same direct-to-camera storytelling technique of the previous Anderson short films, and utilising minimal sets and set decoration, The Rat Catcher is yet again another quirky but likeable mini-movie. Anderson has already demonstrated how he can capture the audience’s attention with very little happening on screen, and in essence The Rat Catcher is more of the same.
However, this is not a case of Anderson just repeating what he did before in the previous movies, The Rat Catcher employs one or two different visual flourishes to keep things fresh. At one point, there’s a well-placed use of lighting which helps to convey the tone, and there’s also a brief dash of stop-motion which adds an extra facet to the presentation.
As with yesterday’s The Swan, The Rat Catcher has a dark edge and a slightly sinister undertone, so keep this in mind. This dark edge is explored through the overall look of the rat catcher himself, who is played to perfection by Ralph Fiennes in makeup and prosthetics, as well as through the film’s ending which suggests something macabre.
And incidentally, of the three Anderson shorts so far, The Rat Catcher is the film with the best ending. Yes, it still feels a touch abrupt, but what is implied at the end of the picture lingers longer in the mind as the credits roll.
Overall, The Rat Catcher is another solid Roald Dahl adaptation from Wes Anderson. The director continues to serve up some surprises; his creativity is on screen for all to see; and the end result is a film that is both imaginative and intriguing.
The final film in Anderson’s collection – Poison – arrives on Netflix tomorrow. I look forward to seeing if Anderson can achieve the same success he has with The Rat Catcher and the other films in this series.
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