WRITER-director Wes Anderson brings his distinctively skewed vision of modern American family life to this bittersweet tale of conflict between the generations.

Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) is a famous oceanographer and documentary filmmaker who travels the world with his crew, embarking on exciting escapades under the aegis of producer Oseary Drakoulias (Michael Gambon).

The members of Team Zissou, including the ever enthusiastic Klaus (Willem Dafoe) and shy Pele (Seu Jorge), who has a predilection for singing David Bowie classics in Portuguese, loyally follow Steve to the ends of the earth.

When Steve's favourite crew member is killed by the mythical jaguar shark, the washed-up sea dog embarks on his potentially last crusade to photograph and kill the fish.

Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), who claims to be Steve's long-lost love child, joins the expedition to meet the father he never knew, sparking a rivalry with Steve for the affections of pretty British reporter Jane Winslett-Richardson (Cate Blanchett) from Oceanographic Explorer magazine.

En route, Steve begs for assistance from his deadpan wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), the so-called brains behind Team Zissou, defends himself from marauding pirates, and encounters Eleanor's ex-husband Alistair (Jeff Goldblum) who is, by his own admission, "part gay".

Affectionately parodying the films of Jacques Cousteau, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is one slice of weirdness too far for Anderson.

Unlike his previous features, the writer-director neglects to anchor his picture in some recognisable version of reality.

So as Steve and his colleagues face various emotional traumas, it's hard to muster any concern for their wellbeing.

If the jaguar shark were to gobble half of them up in the closing moments, we'd hardly blink an eye.

Murray delivers a nuanced and wryly amusing central performance that owes a great deal to the actor's bountiful natural charm.

His co-stars are largely caricatures, borne to serve the loopy contrivances of the script. Even the gorgeous Blanchett struggles to bring depth to her plummy hack.

The film is beautifully crafted - the tracking shots of Steve and Co moving through the various decks of the ship is a neat touch - and some of the comic interludes are extremely funny.

However, The Life Aquatic often feels far too much like a series of losing connected skits than a fluid whole.

Like the lead character, Anderson's picture thrashes about, struggling to keep its head above water.

Rating 6/10