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2:46 PM
I rarely spend the 12.95 (yes 12.95) to go to see a movie unless I was sure I had a good feeling about it. And from the trailer alone when I posted in Get Excited! Movies to Look Forward To I thought I would only be able to see it once it is out on DVD by Christmas or the New Year and think it was nothing compared to Royal Tenenbaums, which is kind of my favorite Anderson film. But like any other fan of his special schtick of classical whimsy, Moonrise Kingdom does have something that is possibly more whimsical than the rest of his films: the 50s/60s innocence.
I could spend a majority of this review saying all the critical points: the five different film genres Anderson and Coppola have managed to squeeze within a hour and a half, some sticking out harsher than the others; the somewhat stiff acting from the adults (or perhaps that is the point to fall in love with the child actors more and revere the adults until their small-town sympathetic attitudes of being poor adults kick in). But as for casting, this movie is a perfect ensemble and the chemistry is undeniable. Sure Anderson falls back on some of his family dynamics with the younger brothers of Kara Hayward's Suzy Bishop with coordinated outfits which hearkens back to Ben Stiller's family in Tenenbaums and the mother and father angst which seems to show the whole point of the movie: some children grow up and become jaded. And Anderson knows jaded well.
Suzy is disenchanted with life and the small town dynamics so when she and her pen pal, Khaki Scout (a thinly disguised soldier-like Boy Scouts) Sam (played by the beautifully talented Jared Gilman who I hope can break onto the film scene) decide to run away together close to the event of a dangerous storm; Suzy's parents (Bill Murray of course and Frances McDormand), the local sheriff (Bruce Willis), and the Khaki Scout Leader Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton, who quite possibly was my favorite part of the movie) interfere with Suzy and Sam's happiness. And the happiness is riddled with awkward kissing and fondling (which is good! that's what pre-teens do, and it's not pretty or glamorous!), following the Indian trail of the Island, and a war movie between the awkward pre-teens versus the more popular kids which gets **SPOILER** a little bloody... . **END OF SPOILER**
We all wish the movie would end there, but it doesn't and one isn't completely sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing as the storm officially hits and our favorite couple attempts to escape the parents involuntarily this time. Is it a success is anyone's guess, but it's probably a bigger success for the adults. Once more, Anderson shows that he understands tortured or angsty adults as Frances McDormand's Laura has an on-off affair with Bruce Willis's Captain Sharp but knows she should stop it, but either way she will be unhappy, but that's the price she'll make to raise her troubled daughter and goofy sons. This makes for a sad and almost painful scene in the bedroom with Bill Murray (four words I never thought would come out of my mouth) as they have a back and forth about if they deserve to be happy. Obviously there is more than just a pre-teen romance here, and it encompasses who sympathizes with who given the audience. Wes Anderson lets the movie-goer decide who to care about -- that's what a good filmmaker does.
But the one critical point that I would have to turn my brain off to the next time I watch this, is the fact that a good filmmaker would attempt to smooth over the numerous genres. 1. There is a narrator which, in late 50s/early 60s fashion (as it seems this is based in a retro world with many anachronisms) of geographical documentaries, explains the island, its history and the impending storm that changes the character's fates. 2. The main character stories of the pre-teen romance and the adults. 3. A war-movie which treats the Khaki Scouts like soldiers on the escape of the parents. 4. An angsty teen movie of being an outsider. 5. An action movie so Bruce Willis can show he still has it in him in complete satirical Anderson schtick. Some of them smooth together very well, the narrator appearing as just a character of the island but the action and documentary genres stick out like a bad thumb, while we need a climax, they seemed like they were thrown in. And this is Roman Coppola we're talking about too! Shouldn't you have genetic brilliance in your DNA? But the war movie part was quite possibly the cutest (yes I say cute) part of the movie because it shows how intensely Sam cares for Suzy and being an orphan revering authority and adults when his innocent face can barely keep up those Buddy Holly glasses.
Despite all its obvious flaws of an undescribed era, we should assume late 50s/early 60s with the perfect Anderson cinematography, Moonrise Kingdom is overall a very well done movie -- showing that kids and adults aren't as different as we think. Case in point is when Tilda Swinton's Social Services comes in an verbally emasculates Bill Murray and Bruce Willis's characters -- classic. So who's the adult and child? Wes seems to reverse this and you almost feel sorry for how the children end up in the end since we want the adults to suffer and the children to thrive. But like I said earlier, watch it, choose who you feel for and decide for yourself if it's a good movie or not. And that's what makes a damned good movie, fantastic job Mr. Anderson!
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