Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion

Last updated
Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion
Come Together A Fashion Picture in Motion.jpg
Directed by Wes Anderson
Written byWes Anderson
Produced byJulie Sawyer
Starring
Cinematography Bruno Delbonnel
Production
companies
  • H&M
  • Riff Raff Films
  • The Directors Bureau
Distributed byH&M
Release date
  • November 27, 2016 (2016-11-27)(internet)
Running time
4 minutes
LanguageEnglish

Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion, or simply Come Together, is a 2016 Christmas-themed comedy short film written and directed by Wes Anderson, and was made as a commercial for H&M's "Come Together" clothing line. It stars Adrien Brody and Garth Jennings. On November 27, 2016, it was released on the internet.

Contents

Plot

The film opens on Christmas morning on a train named the "Winter Express" of the fictional H&M Lines, where the conductor, Ralph (Adrien Brody), tells his passengers via intercom due to weather conditions, mechanical difficulties, and alternating of the tracks, the train will be delayed eleven and a half hours, making their estimated arrival time 3:17 AM. Ralph also states that it may interfere with the passengers' holiday plans, as it will his, and is sorry for the inconvenience. Although, Ralph announces that he and his assistant porter, Fritz (Garth Jennings), will be serving a Christmas brunch in the next twenty minutes, and invites the passengers to join them. During this time, the camera pans over toward some of the train passenger windows, showing not only the passengers themselves, but also presents with pictures of their loved ones on them. The camera then pans back down to Ralph, and he contacts a nearby train station master named Fred regarding supplies for the Christmas brunch. After this, Ralph and Fritz go to a window in a cabin across from Ralph's office to get the supplies he asked for with a metal hook. Ralph and Fritz then head towards the cafeteria section of the train to prepare the brunch. Nineteen minutes later, the coach passengers go to the cafeteria section for the brunch, the last one being an unaccompanied boy passenger. When he enters Ralph, Fritz, and the coach passengers welcome him, and he helps Ralph put the star on the Christmas tree.

Cast

Reception

Come Together: A Fashion Picture in Motion received positive reviews from critics.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it a 3/5 star rating, and said, "It’s a sweet little film, but the final sentimental note is a bit straightforward, and it is not obviously more rewarding or complex than any of the John Lewis-style Christmas ads..." [1] Christopher Horton of The Independent stated, "An incredibly festive four minutes it is classic Wes, all perfect symmetry, camera pans, smooth tracking shots, immaculate costume and quaint appliances and stationery." [2] Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone called it "uplifting" and said, "Brody’s conductor transforms the dining car into a worthwhile celebration that captures the spirit of Christmas, with some perfectly scored assistance from John Lennon’s classic 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)'." [3] Bryan Bishop of The Verge said, "...in just under four minutes Anderson and Brody are able to push all the right buttons. ...there’s various pieces of H&M branding tucked inside the short at discrete moments, but let’s forget about the cynicism for now, and just focus on a sweet story told with style." [4]

Tim Nudd of Adweek said, "The film is shot in typical Anderson style, including tracking shots and great attention to detail. The final scene is quite emotional, which is nice, too, amid the exquisite design." [5] Joey Paur of GeekTyrant said, "His [Anderson's] signature filmmaking and storytelling style is all over this thing and I love it." [6] Campaign gave it 8/10 stars, and stated, "The spot oozes Anderson’s signature cinematic style as it tells a story of compassion and coming-together for the festive season." [7] Alexandra Jardine of AdAge says, "The set, with its pastel colors and gorgeously stylized look, is vintage Anderson, as is Brody's poker-faced performance. This is Christmas advertising for the indie movie-lover..." [8] Joe Berkowitz of Fast Company said, "Anderson’s gifts for composition and seeing the world through children’s eyes translates to even his advertising work. We have been here before, but we like it here." [9] Tracy Brown of the Los Angeles Times states, "The short... definitely bears Anderson's quirky hallmarks, with the train and Brody conjuring a "Darjeeling Limited" feel. You almost forget that it's an H&M ad until you realize the passengers' wardrobe doesn't quite match the rest of the Anderson aesthetic." [10] Paul Hiebert of YouGov stated, "The commercial is stylish and cool, quirky and fun. No doubts there." [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Fiennes</span> English actor (born 1962)

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor, film producer, and director. He graduated from RADA in 1985. A Shakespeare interpreter, Fiennes excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Widely regarded as one of Britain's most well-known and popular actors, he has received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and an Emmy Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrien Brody</span> American actor (born 1973)

Adrien Nicholas Brody is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist (2002), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29, becoming the youngest actor to win in that category. He also became the second American male actor to win the César Award for Best Actor for the same film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H&M</span> Swedish multinational clothing retail company

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, commonly known by its brand name H&M, is a multinational fashion retailer headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Wilson</span> American actor (born 1968)

Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and comedian. He has frequently worked with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he has shared writing and acting credits on the films Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)—the latter received a nomination for the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. He has also appeared in Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and The French Dispatch (2021). Wilson also starred in the Woody Allen romantic comedy Midnight in Paris (2011) as disenchanted screenwriter Gil Pender, a role which received a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 2014, he appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice and Peter Bogdanovich's She's Funny That Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Anderson</span> American filmmaker (born 1969)

Wesley Wales Anderson is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative styles, and frequent use of ensemble casts. With themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families, critics have cited Anderson as an auteur. Three of his films have appeared in BBC Culture's 2016 poll of the greatest films since 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Selick</span> American filmmaker (born 1952)

Charles Henry Selick Jr. is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic horror films and for directing the stop-motion animated films The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Monkeybone (2001), Coraline (2009), and Wendell & Wild (2022). Selick is also known for his collaborations with the late voice actor and artist Joe Ranft.

<i>The Pianist</i> (2002 film) Biopic directed by Roman Polanski

The Pianist is a 2002 biographical film produced and directed by Roman Polanski, with a script by Ronald Harwood, and starring Adrien Brody. It is based on the autobiographical book The Pianist (1946), a memoir by the Polish-Jewish pianist, composer and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman. The film was a co-production by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland.

<i>Fantastic Mr. Fox</i> (film) 2009 American film by Wes Anderson

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American animated adventure-comedy film directed by Wes Anderson from a screenplay by Anderson and Noah Baumbach and based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. Featuring stop-motion animation, it stars George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, and Owen Wilson. In the film, a spree of thefts led by Mr. Fox (Clooney) results in his family, and later his community, being hunted down by three farmers.

<i>The Darjeeling Limited</i> 2007 film by Wes Anderson

The Darjeeling Limited is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson, which he co-produced with Scott Rudin, Roman Coppola, and Lydia Dean Pilcher, and co-wrote with Coppola and Jason Schwartzman. The film stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Schwartzman as three estranged brothers who agree to meet in India a year after their father's funeral for a "spiritual journey" aboard a luxury train. The cast also includes Waris Ahluwalia, Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Barbet Schroeder, and Anjelica Huston, with Natalie Portman, Camilla Rutherford, Irrfan Khan, and Bill Murray in cameo roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amara Karan</span> British actress (born January 01, 1984)

Amara Karunakaran is an English actress. She made her film debut in 2007 as Rita in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, which premiered Venice Film Festival, and Peaches in St Trinian's.

<i>Harrisons Flowers</i> 2000 film by Élie Chouraqui

Harrison's Flowers is a 2000 war-romance drama film directed by Elie Chouraqui. It stars, among others, Andie MacDowell, Elias Koteas, Brendan Gleeson, Adrien Brody, Marie Trintignant, Gerard Butler and David Strathairn. The film is also Quinn Shephard's big screen debut. The film premiered at the 2000 San Sebastián International Film Festival, and released in theatres on 24 January 2001 in France. Universal Pictures gave the film a limited theatrical release in the United States on 15 March 2002, then Lionsgate released this film in the United States on DVD in 2007. For this film's United States version, the film's length was reduced by about 5 minutes; it also features a new score by Cliff Eidelman.

<i>Predators</i> (film) 2010 film by Nimród Antal

Predators is a 2010 American science fiction action film directed by Nimród Antal, serving as the third film in the main series of the Predator franchise and its fifth film overall. The film follows an ensemble cast starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Walton Goggins, and Laurence Fishburne, and follows a group of proficient killers who have been abducted and placed on a planet that acts as a game preserve for two warring tribes of extraterrestrial predators, leading them to try and survive and look for a way back to Earth.

<i>Wrecked</i> (film) 2010 Canadian film

Wrecked is a 2010 Canadian thriller film, directed by Michael Greenspan, written by Christopher Dodd, produced by Kyle Mann and starring Adrien Brody. It was released by IFC Midnight Films on April 1, 2011.

<i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i> 2014 film by Wes Anderson

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a 2014 comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Wes Anderson. Ralph Fiennes leads a 17-actor ensemble cast as Monsieur Gustave H., famed concierge of a 20th-century mountainside resort in the fictional Eastern European country of Zubrowka. When Gustave is framed for the murder of a wealthy dowager, he and his recently befriended protégé Zero embark on a quest for fortune and a priceless Renaissance painting amidst the backdrop of an encroaching fascist regime. Anderson's American Empirical Pictures produced the film in association with Studio Babelsberg, Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Indian Paintbrush's Scott Rudin and Steven Rales. Fox Searchlight supervised the commercial distribution, and The Grand Budapest Hotel's funding was sourced through Indian Paintbrush and German government-funded tax rebates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Cookson</span> English actress (born 1990)

Sophie Cookson is an English actress. She played secret agent Roxy Morton / Lancelot in the 2014 spy film Kingsman: The Secret Service and its 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, and Pippa in the 2016 fantasy film The Huntsman: Winter's War. She played the title role of Christine Keeler in the 2019 BBC One drama television series The Trial of Christine Keeler.

The 19th Costume Designers Guild Awards, honoring the best costume designs in film and television for 2016, took place on February 21, 2017. The nominees were announced on January 12, 2017.

<i>The French Dispatch</i> 2021 American film by Wes Anderson

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun is a 2021 American anthology comedy drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guinness, and Jason Schwartzman. It features an expansive ensemble cast and follows three different storylines as the French news bureau of the fictional Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun newspaper publishes its final issue.

<i>Robin Robin</i> Holiday special on Netflix

Robin Robin is a 2021 stop-motion animated musical short film produced by Aardman Animations, created and directed by Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, and written by Ojari, Please, and Sam Morrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Anderson filmography</span>

Wes Anderson is an American filmmaker known for feature films, commercials, and short films.

References

  1. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (November 28, 2016). "Come Together review – Wes Anderson's H&M Christmas ad is short and sweet". The Guardian . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ Hooton, Christopher (November 28, 2016). "Wes Anderson directed a Christmas short film for H&M and it's like a festive Darjeeling Limited". The Independent . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (November 28, 2016). "Watch Wes Anderson's Christmas-Inspired Short Film 'Come Together'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ Bishop, Bryan (November 28, 2016). "Wes Anderson directed a Christmas commercial for H&M and it is great". The Verge . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ Nudd, Tim (November 28, 2016). "Wes Anderson's New H&M Christmas Ad, With Adrien Brody, Is Totally Stylish and Delightful". Adweek . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Paur, Joey (November 28, 2016). "Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody Teamed Up for a Fantastic Christmas H&M Short Film - COME TOGETHER". GeekTyrant. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Wes Anderson sets the bar high in H&M's Christmas ad". Campaign . December 2, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ Jardine, Alexandra (November 28, 2016). "WES ANDERSON DIRECTS A QUIRKY HOLIDAY TRAIN TALE FOR H&M". AdAge . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Berkowitz, Joe (November 28, 2016). "Wes Anderson's Christmas Short Could Not Be More Wes Anderson". Fast Company . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  10. ↑ Brown, Tracy (November 28, 2016). "H&M wishes you a very Wes Anderson Christmas". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ Hiebert, Paul (December 6, 2016). "Where H&M customers and Wes Anderson fans overlap (and don't)". YouGov . Retrieved March 16, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.