Moonrise Kingdom

Full disclosure, I haven't really loved Wes Anderson's last two live action films. The Life Aquatic was good, and actually grew in esteem a little after a second viewing, but The Darjeeling Limited really didn't do much for me. I had fun while I was watching it, but it almost immediately left my brain after it ended, which is extremely disappointing because I absolutely adore Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums and really really like Bottle Rocket. Either way, it seemed Anderson's style was wearing thin on me.


And then he made Fantastic Mr. Fox, a movie so utterly charming and wonderful that I began to immediately anticipate his next feature. Two years later, when a synopsis and cast list came out for Moonrise Kingdom I hoped that his return to form was not just due to his jump to animation, but hopefully a second creative wind.


And man oh man, if Anderson didn't just go ahead and make what might be his best film yet with Moonrise Kingdom.

It all takes place in early 1960's New England where Sam, a orphaned Khaki scout, flees base camp to meet Suzy, a troubled tween he met a year before, and plan to start a life together, all at the tender age of 12. Upon their disappearance, the small town desperately scrambles to find them.

It sounds pretty straight forward of course, and it pretty much is, but Anderson fills his screenplay with fascinating and hilarious characters brought to life by my personal favorite Anderson ensemble so far ( Though Tenenbaums is a very close second. HACKMAN! ) including Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Francis McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban and of course Jason Schwartzman. All of these guys are amazing and each character gets their own moment of some sort, but for me it's Bruce Willis who almost steals the show from the two young leads ( more on them in a moment ). Willis, of course, is awesome. Besides just being awesome though, he actually happens to be quite a capable actor, something that I feel a lot of people forget. He's always played somber well, as well as having comic timing better than most comedians out there and here he gets to play both those cards. The result is a funny and surprisingly tender character who gets a bit of a wake up call when he begins to look for the two children.

As good as the adults are though, this movie belongs to the kids. From my understanding, both of the leads are completely new to acting ( according to IMDB, at least. So obviously this is fact ), though one would never know it, as they both deliver natural performances. Honestly, the biggest compliment I can give them is that their characters really felt like kids, not just kid actors saying words the audience thinks kids would say. Granted, a lot of credit goes to Anderson for writing these characters so well and directing his actors, but they really came across as kids and react to situations accordingly. There is one scene in particular where their love is "blossoming" so to speak, and they treat the situation in such a matter of fact way that only kids can do.

The other treat of this film is its tone. Anderson's characters have always felt like they are in another world that is at once similar yet different and Moonrise Kingdom is no exception. Like Fantastic Mr. Fox before it, there is an extra whimsical feeling to the movie that really brings it a notch above his previous movies.

Above all though, the movie is honest. It may sounds cliche as hell, but one of Anderson's strengths has always been his honest depiction of how people deal with life, love and all the other shit in between. His characters and universe may be slightly odd, but they are always overwhelmingly human.